No Rest For The Wicked
by ARMV7
Summary: Wartorn, Opportunistic, Deadly. Remnant: A land riddled with Bandits, and corrupted by weapon manufacturers. When a job takes a crazy turn, Freelancers Ruby and Yang 'enlist' the help of Bandit leader Cinder Fall, and Atlas turncoat Neo? [DISCONTINUED]
1. Raid

_**A/N **_**Here it is! The Bandit AU I talked about. I'm really sorry about 'Transgression' guys, really. But I have a much better feeling with this one. It's actually an idea I've had for months now, and allows me to try some new things, such as Action scenes. That doesn't mean I still won't be careful however. **

**I'll be updating this story on Mondays. Chapters will vary in length, but no less than 5k words.**

**~Massive shout out/thanks to Shadowyman! He kept me company while I typed, sent me fantastic ideas, and is an all-round awesome guy. Be sure to give his stories a read, yeah?~**

Chapter 1. Raid

_"Whenever I'm caught between two evils; I pick the one I've never gone with before." -Unknown_

_6 Years ago..._

_**'KRAKOW!'**_

A single, large caliber, round pierced through the air. Leaving an airy trail in its wake. Traveling at 2,998 feet per second; the .50 caliber trajectile whizzed towards it's target, missing by mere millimeters. The round continued to travel until it found an eventual placement in a dusty sand patch much farther away.

"Darn!" The shooter squawked. "So close." The wielder of the weapon pulled the bolt back and chambered another round -paying no attention to the empty clatter the guns action made. Placing her eye back into the socket of the digital scope; the young girl went for another try.

"Hey, hey, slow down Ruby." A commanding, but calm voice called from behind her. "Are you forgetting something?"

The young girl know known as Ruby pulled her eye from the scope and looked up from her prone position, locking eyes with a middle aged woman with deep crimson eyes. "N-No?" She sputtered, but already thinking over what she might've forgotten.

"That was your last shot, which means...?" She asked incredulously.

"Oh! I uh, need to reload, sorry." She stuttered, feeling foolish for forgetting one of the most important things when it comes to wielding _any _firearm. _'Stupid!' _She internally scolded.

"It's alright, you were just caught in the moment." Raven surveyed the area before looking down to Ruby again.

"I think that's enough practice for one day. C'mon, your Uncle Qrow and Yang are probably getting worried." She gestured with a wave. Ruby quickly clamored up, almost dropping the rifle as she did so. Today's mishap wasn't so bad. Her Aunt Raven had started to train her on the rifle a mere two weeks ago, and she was already mastering the basics.

A thirteen year old with skills such as hers was already astonishing.

Not wanting to get left behind, Ruby quickly grabbed her goggles and placed them back into the tresses of her short black, crimson-tinted hair. Living in a jagged desert such as this, goggles were near mandatory. They were black trimmed with a shiny bright red lens running across. The goggles were themed to follow her current ensemble pretty well. She wore a high collared black and red plaid shirt that was torn in various places. Underneath that was a simple black tank top, with tight fitting blue jeans and tall sand gripping boots to top it all off. All of this was accompanied by a small backpack, and an empty holster on her right hip.

With Ruby being skilled in a similar fashion to Raven, she always looked to the ebony haired woman as an abundant source of knowledge to hone her marksmanship on. Raven herself was dressed in a similar ensemble, but with shorts and a thin duster cloaking her form, alongside a dark maroon bandanna that restricted the free flow of her ebony tresses.

"So... now what?" Ruby questioned, slinging the rifle over her shoulder.

Raven turned back and grinned, "Well you're almost ready for the big stuff." She emphasized the word big with a wide gesture and a small chuckle.

Ruby's silver eyes lit up, "Really?!" She cheered. Raven gave her a sly nod before turning around again, hand waving Ruby to keep following. Their point of choice today was shooting cactus far from the short crags a short distance from her home town of Signal. Cactus made perfect targets due to their human - like stance.

Signal rested in the northern part of the wastes, right at the far edge of the barren land. The town, like many others, was small, dusty, and above all; dangerous. Small homes made of old brick and metal was pretty much the standard of living, but not just in Signal -everywhere.

Well, almost everywhere.

There wasn't much in the way of roads either. Just a wide dusty path that cut right through the center of the small town. Outside in the wasteland however were old, cracked and rundown roads built not because people wanted them, built because people _needed _them.

Said 'people' were mainly weapon merchants either looking to buy, sell or trade in the towns that dotted the land. They'd come in large all - terrain vehicles known as Technicals. Massive all wheel drive trucks that could seat six, with a mounted gun to ward off any Bandit raiders looking to "have fun" with them.

Ninety five percent of what the gun runners brought was well, guns of course. From all different manufacturers all across the land. Six of the manufacturers reigned supreme however; Atlas, Schnee, Mistral, Haven, Goliath, and Mantle. Each known for different aspects giving purchasers a myriad of choices when it comes to how to duke it out in the wasteland.

Speaking of guns-

Ruby dogtrotted up to Raven, "So when you say big stuff, do you mean..."

"Ruby." Raven tutted. "I don't think you're ready for the Atlas rifle."

"Oh C'mon! Please? Yang got to use it, so why can't I?" Ruby was already entering her trademark 'begging puppy' mode.

"Because Yang is two years older than you." The woman turned and noticed Ruby's saddened expression, smirking she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and quickly formed an idea, "Tell ya what; if you shoot perfectly tomorrow, we'll try it out on the weekend. But this time we go up to my favorite spot."

"You mean... yes!" She cheered, not even taking the downside of the deal into consideration.

"Now hurry, sun will be down soon." Raven pointed to the western horizon, Ruby followed the gesture and met eyes with the brilliant orange of the sun setting below the jagged mountains far off in the distance. "Right." She affirmed.

Internally Ruby couldn't wait for tomorrow. Finally she'd get to ditch this lame Goliath manufactured rifle and get her hands on some real power. An Atlas. The two guns differed wildly. Goliath was the most common, built straight from the Bandit forges and sold for cheap, these guns only had one thing going for them; capacity. Bandit's like their bullets almost as much as they love to kill, so things like accuracy don't matter to them _at all_. Why should it when you've got a two hundred round box magazine? Such was the Bandit logic.

Atlas on the other hand; built for accuracy. High tech, and elegant guns equipped with stabilizers to mitigate recoil and allow the user to focus on precision. If it took more than one shot; you weren't using an Atlas.

Atlas, along with the Schnee's, are the only militarized group in the wasteland who, for the most part, keep to themselves. Only coming out to sell weapons, or to transport valuable items across the desert. Ruby herself has never seen an Atlas trooper, but what the roaming nomads who came through town said about them gave Ruby the feeling that they weren't the nicest of people.

As for the Schnee's, they were the ones who provided money for the Atlesian group to stay a cut above the rest. All of that cash came from Mineral and Dust mining -two things that guns need to exist. The Schnee's, are led by a man named Robert and his two daughters -one for which Ruby knew was roughly the same age as herself. The rich so-called family business used Bandit convict labor to work in the mines and extract precious ore. Ironically enough, said ore would be melted down and forged into weapon parts, sent on transports which would get raided, and then put in the hands of freelancing Bandit's who'd use them to fight the Schnee's in the first place.

Funny how things work out around here.

Dust on the other hand was a Schnee exclusive. Used to manufacture various expensive weapons elementally supercharged with things like fire and acid. It was one type of weapon that was extremely expensive, hence it being an exclusive for the rich Mercenary, or Schnee personnel.

As Ruby continued to mull over the various types of weapons, she hadn't realized she was almost home already. The abode in which they lived in was small to say the least. It sat alongside the wide dusty path in the center of town, the whole building didn't belong to them however. She lives with her Aunt and Uncle on the second floor above a gun store run by the infamous gun runner: Tukson. Head of the largest merchant business, backed by its own private group of Bandit mercenaries.

He's an overall nice person, and one of the only Faunus Ruby had the pleasure of knowing. But get on his bad side, or try to con him; he'll gladly shoot you in his own store.

Walking in alongside Raven, Ruby entered the well-lit storeroom and closed the door behind her. The low howl of the outside wind, and the clatter of footsteps caught both Tukson and the male customer who he was talking to attention. A radio in the background could be heard, blasting some ad for Goliath munitions.

Ruby gave a nervous grin to Tukson, but went stoic upon locking eyes with the customer. A man much taller than normal clad in a heavy jacket, and thick dark pants. He had large shoulder pads which looked to be comprised of scrap metal, a bandoleer crossing his chest, as well as various other bits of makeshift armor. His helmet is what scared Ruby the most. An army green helmet completely encompassing his head looking not unlike a helmet she'd seen in those Atlas recruitment posters scattered around town. The modifications to it however were a sharp metal mohawk on top, and two sharp lenses for each eye.

Ruby shuddered a little. It was a Bandit. In land full of discord and insanity, without a government, you either joined Atlas, stayed within the shanty towns, or became a Bandit. Around here it seemed option three was most preferable. The life of freedom, and zanin was definitely appealing, but your chances of being disemboweled are increased tenfold.

The crimsonette still stood there, Raven at her side. Finally one of them spoke up;

"What'dya lettin kids in here now Tuk? I thought you ain't sold to kids." The Bandit questioned.

Ruby stifled a laugh at the man's illiterate accent, muffled by his helmet. Another important thing about Bandit's; they're dumber than all hell. Always excited about loud noises and murder. Like modern gun-toting cavemen so to speak.

"Nevermind you Bandit moron. Look are you buying something? I'm closing up soon." Tukson spoke from behind the wooden counter.

The Bandit threw is arms in the air, with exasperation he spoke. "Whatever man! I'm gonna get outta here, great selection my ass." He literally pushed past Ruby and bust out the door, mumbling something about how "Tukson is a greedy bastard."

"Sorry about that. You know how they are." Tukson shrugged. "So how'd it go today, didn't break another rifle did you?"

"No." Raven laughed. "That was Yang. She hates the rifles."

"Well i should've known. She and Qrow were on the roof all day using low flying birds as target practice. Girls pretty good with a shotgun." Tukson nodded with a quaint grin.

"Yeah, she's always been the nitty-gritty close range type. More Qrow's style anyway." Raven looked down to Ruby, ruffling her hair a bit. "This one is using the Atlas soon."

"Impressive." Tukson nodded. He gave one last glance around his shop, "Well its time for closing. You two better head upstairs. I'm leaving soon."

"No worry, C'mon Ruby." Raven put her hand on the girls shoulder and guided her up the stairs behind the counter in the shop. The stairs led up to a three-room living space. A tiny rundown kitchen to the left, a small seating area to the right, and two doorways on the far wall leading into the bedrooms. The small home had two windows as well, one in each of the bedrooms.

Ruby took her time escalate the stairs until the muffled voices of her sister and her Uncle could be heard. The scarlet teen sprinted the remaining way and halted right in the main room, smiling widely. Qrow was at a workbench in the corner with Yang. Apparently rebuilding a shotgun. "Hey Uncle, hey sis!" Ruby beamed. Setting the rifle and her ammo down.

Her blonde sister ceased her work with Qrow and immediately ran up to Ruby and crushed her in a hug. "There she is!" Yang shouted. The older girl wore lighter clothing consisting of a faded yellow tank top, shorts, and various pockets and straps. On her back was a magnetic weapon holster capable of holding two guns at once. Something Qrow had fashioned for her.

"Gah! Lemme go!" Ruby wriggled in the blondes grasp. Qrow smiled and looked up from the workbench. He was roughly the same age as Raven, all with medium length dark blonde hair that was getting gray in random places. His skin was slightly more tanned than Raven, and his face wore a sharp but warm expression. "How'd it go today?" He asked Raven.

The ebony-haired woman gave an affirmative grin. "She did well. Only missed once. Pretty impressive for the range it was at."

"She's taking right after her mother." Qrow muttered with a smile. "Yang, why don't you tell your sister what WE did today?"

"Uncle Qrow and I spent the while afternoon-"

"Shooting birds?" Raven cut in.

"Hey, how'd you know?" The blonde irked.

"Tukson told us."

"Haha, yeah." The blonde giggled. "He came up here like five times to tell us we were being too loud. Oh! And look!" Yang dashed over to the workbench and produced the main chassis of a shotgun. "Qrow and I are building one too."

"Oh yeah? Well I get to test out the Atlas rifle tomorrow." Ruby picked up on Yang's actions as gloating and decided to give it back.

"Rifles, psh, whatever. Too slow for me."

"Hey! Rifles are awesome and you know it. I mean it's an Atlas! Nothing gets better than that!" Ruby gushed.

"Okay, okay sis settle down."

"That Rifle?" Qrow raised butted in. Raising an eyebrow. "Sure she's ready?"

"She'll do fine." Raven reassured. "Heck, she's better than I was when I was her age."

"Hm, I can testify to that." Qrow quipped. He ignored Raven's impending glare and eyed the bickering sisters. "I've got a job for you two." His proposal immediately caught their attention. "Take this money and go get something to eat hm? You both have done well today." He handed them a few bills. If there was one thing the Schnee's did right, it was the implementing currency in the wasteland long ago.

"Really?!" The girls said in total synchronization.

"Sure, don't be too long though." Qrow could barely finish his statement before the two of them bolted out the door. Their actions forced him to grin widely, a bond like Ruby and Yang's was such a rarity in the wastes. Most bonds he'd seen could easily be broken by simply tossing a wad of cash or a nice gun between them, instantly reducing them to cold killers. Such was not the case between the sisters however. Both of them would fight tooth and nail to ensure the others safety, and material possessions mattered null.

"They're so much like Summer and Taiyang, aren't they?" Raven queried.

"Hm?" Qrow snapped from his thoughts and averted his attention to Raven. "Yeah, they are. If only they could be here to see them now."

"Sad yes, but we're their family now. We're doing exactly what they would want us to do." Raven reassured.

"Hm."

Qrow went off in thought again. The four of them were family, Qrow himself being Summer's brother and Raven being Taiyang's sister. After the passing of them, Ruby and Yang were left in the care of Qrow, how got in contact with Raven not soon after. It was the best option in terms of survival. You either stuck with your family, or in a tight knit group of friends. The whole 'Lone Wolf' attitude would undoubtedly get you killed in a myriad of ways, only the biggest badasses could manage in their own, and even then it would prove difficult.

After Ruby and Yang came into the picture; Raven and Qrow took it upon themselves to teach the girls everything there is to know about weapons, hand to hand and survival so that one day they could manage themselves if things got too dicey, or entertaining.

Ruby almost immediately took a liking to rifles and pistols, always raving about how cool they are. Yang on the other hand took to the bigger, louder types. Mainly shotguns. In the end it worked out perfectly as Qrow was a master shot-gunner, and Raven an ace marksman.

Through a lot of practice and maybe a few arguments, the girls learned skills quickly and proved to be viable when it came to survival. So it was random days like these where he'd give them a reward for their hard work.

_**######**_

"So where should we go?" Yang asked, closing the door behind her. The blonde watched as Ruby shuffled the money around on her hand, the girl counting it over and over again.

"Here Yang," The crimsonette handed the blonde half of the money. "There's your half."

"Half? Ruby what're you doing?"

"I want to save my money and get my own rifle, so, there you can do whatever you want with your half. I'm saving mine." Ruby explained proudly.

"So you'd rather buy a new rifle than have dinner? Wait, that actually makes sense." Yang reasoned. Sometimes she honestly questioned the fact that Ruby could be a Bandit, the girl already fit the 'Unhealthy gun obsession' part, and she was basically reduced to a sputtering animal if you put any format of sweets in front of her.

"That's two out of three..." Yang muttered.

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing sis, C'mon how about we just go for a walk."

"Uh, okay." Ruby shrugged and followed closely behind Yang. They took the stairs down to Tukson's store and exited through the back door, their senses immediately being lightened by the cool crisp desert nightfall. A tiny bit of orange could be seen in the far distance, but everything else was already dark or a deep material purple.

Yang took a deep breath, "You small that Rubes?"

Ruby giggled, "You mean the gasoline and garbage smell?"

"Right on sis." Yang laughed a little. The back of the shop faced several other shanty homes and beyond them was some smaller crags providing the town with natural protection. Upon eyeing them Ruby came up with an idea; "I know! I can show you the place I practiced at today." Yang nodded along, she'd rather be eating right now, but choose to humor her sister a little while longer.

Following the same route from earlier that evening, Ruby led Yang up to the extended cliff she was sniping from. The bluff stood out among the rest as being the sharpest and tallest, giving the viewer a picturesque scene of the vast expanse of the mainland. Reaching the edge first the crimsonette excitedly waved Yang over. As soon as the blonde caught up, she ushered them to sit on the edge, feet now dangling a hundred feet from the flat sands below.

"Wow." Was all Yang could say. "Raven never took me up here..."

"Yeah, it's my favorite spot." Ruby clarified. Silence befell, the two of them soaking in the amazing night sights.

"Hey Yang?"

"What's up?"

"You ever wonder what's out there?" Ruby made a wide gesture to the landscape. "Like, I don't know, just go out and travel around? Meeting all kinds of crazy people."

"I don't know sis. Maybe one day we'll go out there and be the good guys, kicking Bandit ass and finding all kinds of cool stuff." Yang said, not taking her eyes off of the horizon.

"Yeah, we could find all sorts of things, and sell them, and become rich, a-and do... stuff..." Ruby trailed off, getting caught up in multitude of options.

"Heh, we'd bring the stuff back and Tukson would give us five bucks for it." Yang cracked up in laughter. Ruby following not soon after. "I'll give you ten bucks." Yang mocked in a deep voice causing Ruby to laugh even harder.

"Crap!" Yang shouted, sitting up quickly. Ruby immediately ceased her laughter and eyed her sister, the blonde looking down at her watch. "We better head back." The girl quickly stood up, "They're probably getting... worried..."

Ruby grimaced as Yang's expression dropped, the blondes face locked in fear but still looking out to the landscape. "Yang?" She asked.

"..."

"Yang- ack! Hey!?" Ruby hissed at the death grip Yang placed on her shoulder, forcing her to look in the same direction.

Her face immediately copied Yang's.

In the distance, maybe under a mile away from town, was four pairs of headlights rushing toward Signal. Ruby, already fearing the worst, hastily dug through her backpack and produced a pair of binoculars. She practically glued them ton her face and focused on the scene below. As her eyes came into focus she gasped.

Four technicals, each filled with Bandit marauders, sped directly towards Signal. Quick doing the math in her head, Ruby estimated there was at least 24 of them. All armed to the teeth. "Oh no." Ruby quivered.

"Bandits."

"What!?" Yang exclaimed. She took immediate action, "C'mon! We have to warn them!" She tugged on the scarlet girls arm and pulled her back from the edge. The sudden movement causing her to shake and drop the binoculars off the Cliffside.

Fearfully, Ruby followed._ 'Of all days...'_ She should've known. All towns get attacked at some point in time. What made her feel worse was because Signal has yet to be assaulted; guards and defenses numbered few.

"We need to get back!" Yang shouted. She continued to drag Ruby along, the both of them sprinting at insane speeds. They made the short run back down the crags and into the rear of the town.

Already too late.

It was an inevitability really. Every so often Bandits will show up to have some "fun" with local towns. Most likely because they needed to resupply themselves, or were just plain bored. Usually it was the latter over the former. If you were lucky, they'd simply set fire to the place and leave. If you weren't lucky, like most are, you'd be dead within a few minutes or taken prisoner to do God knows what back at one of thier camps.

Down the main dusty path in the middle of town, both girls got a good view of the front entrance where the road ended and the town began. The loud roar of gas guzzling engines became closer and closer, townsfolk already starting to retreat into their homes while others took cover, hands on whatever weapons they had.

Ruby and Yang followed suit. Taking cover around the corner of a nearby brick home. Heart pounding seconds came and went, the engine roar was deafeningly close. Yang huddled her younger sister close and peaked around the dark corner. Lilac eyes widened as the first technical drove directly into town. The large vehicle did a quick one-eighty powerslide before coming to a halt. The other three vehicles stopping in other random positions along the center of town.

From the first vehicle, a large Bandit stepped out from the drivers seat -machine gun slung on his shoulder. He raised it into the air and fired several times. "Bang Bang Bang!" The Bandit called out, several other Marauders climbed out of the vehicle too, most of them dressed in a similar fashion. Dark heavy pants, heavy hoodies, with bandanna's and darkened goggles.

Ruby perked up, the voice of the first guy sounded... terrifying. She knelt next to Yang and snuck a peek too, it looked like the same Bandit from earlier. The one in Tukson's shop. She then noticed something he hadn't before; squinting her eyes an emblem came into focus on his makeshift shoulder plate. The emblem of the notorious Bandit group known as Crimson. One of the more powerful clans in the area.

It wasn't the same guy, but one that was way more powerful.

"Alright boys!" The leader squawked. "Get to it."

With the command given, each of the lower ranking marauders instantly went crazy. They spread out in a somewhat tactical order. The ones with heavier weapons took to the doors of townsfolk whilst the lesser armed ones ravaged the outside.

"Yeeeaaaahhawww!" One shouted. Ruby and Yang shifted their gaze to a home on the far right. A Bandit kicked the door in and immediately started firing from the hip like a madman, his Goliath machine gun blaring. Screams could be heard from inside along with muzzle flashes from the slats in the windows. Within mere seconds the screaming stopped, only to be heard again except from a different place.

"Ya'll three!" The leader called out, pointing a a small group of his subordinates. "C'mon, we gonna pay ol' Tukson a visit." He pulled the pin back on his gun and marched down the path, quickly evading the girls line of sight.

"Yang, what do we do?" Ruby shrilled, already terrified at what was going on. Bandit's were going home to home, killing, setting fire, repeat.

"You heard that big guy, he's going to- ERGH!" Yang screamed. A Marauder jumped out from around a corner and wrapped Yang in a near neck-breaking headlock. "What d'we got here?" He cackled, tightening his grip around Yang's neck. The blonde used a technique Qrow had taught her, she leant forward with all her strength creating a small gap between her feet and his feet. With the proper amount of space; the blonde reeled her leg forward and brought her heel back with as much force as possible, hitting the Bandit right in apex of his legs. "AGH! Owh..." He screeched, Yang felt his grip fall off as the man crumpled to the ground slowly curling up in pain.

"Yeah! Alright Rubes, let's..." Yang's gaze darted around, not being able to locate Ruby. "She must've ran to get Raven." Yang said aloud. The elder girl picked up the downed Bandit's tomahawk and took off in a different direction, wanting to avoid as much confrontation as possible. Her body was shaking with adrenaline, her mind was rushing with exhilaration. She'd never actually fought anyone in person like that, in an odd way it felt...

Good.

Finally she could put her skills to good use, even if it was mindless violence. She shook her head vigorously, trudging through town as gunfire and screams rung out from close-by, only one objective was what she focused on.

Get to her family.

As Yang continued on Ruby darted down a random alley just on the other side of the homes that faced the main dusty path. Her body was racking in fear, knowing all to well what happens when Bandit's decide to attack a town. Even in the cold desert nighttime, her she was sweating profusely.

"Damn!" She thundered coming to a dead end. The crimson teen looked to her left and saw an odd stack of scrap metal and junk that could be used to climb up onto the roofs and get to Tukson's shop back door a lot faster. Her body froze in fear however as loud footfalls thumped a little _too _closely.

"Agh! I'm gonna cook you!" Another bandit squalled.

Ruby stopped dead in the short alleyway, eyes widening at the voice. The crimsonette fearfully glanced up to her right, and leaped out of the way as a bandit wielding a tomahawk lurched off a nearby shanty roof. She heaved a feared gasp as the bandit's weapon became lodged in a nearby wall. "Goddamn!" He shrilled, imminently he began tugging on the trapped object.

Still in shock, Ruby bound up from the dirt, dashed behind the bandit, and bashed his face off of the concrete wall. "Oh god..." she gawked at her own action. "What did I-" she felt her adrenaline increase tenfold.

"Another little girl!" A similar Marauder shouted from the end of the alleyway. The young girl feared for her life upon seeing the Atlesian-model pistol in his grasp.

"Never mess with the-" He pulled the trigger, and Ruby cowered onto the dirt already accepting her fate. Three seconds past and... nothing? She cracked an eye open, and glanced at the bandit who was fiddling with his pistol. "Dammit!" He thundered. "Forgot how this these stupid things work..."

Seeing an opportunity; Ruby reached for the tomahawk still lodged in the wall and pulled with all her frail power. Surprisingly, she was able to pull it out -most likely due to the adrenaline racing through her veins. The girl sprinted up to the frustrated bandit and lodged the tomahawk right through the bandit's helmet. Smashing the front facade, blood smeared back -small droplets of it landing on Ruby's face and dotting her shirt. The bandit didn't elicit any sound, thanks to the blade now lodged into his jaw.

He crumpled to the ground, dropping his gun, and slowly staining the sand a dark crimson. Ruby felt her stomach churn, tempting her to vomit right there in the sand. She fought it off however, and used the heap of junk to escalate the wall and get over to the other side.

She dashed across the roof and jumped down upon coming in contact with the rear facade of the gun store. Within mere inches of the door; Ruby heard more footsteps approaching. The girl instinctively flushed herself against the wall to try and get the jump on whoever was coming.

"Aaagghh!" She yelled turning the corner, ready to attack. She ceased her charge however upon realizing who it was;

"Yang!"

"Ruby!"

Both girls enveloped the other in a tight embrace. "So glad you're okay." Yang spoke.

"L-Look, we need to get inside, I-I saw that guy a-and-" Ruby could barley form a sentence her body still racking in adrenaline fueled fear.

"Rubes are you alright? And- wait a minute, is this blood?" Yang's voice raised an octave upon seeing the dark red on Ruby's pale skin.

"Yang, I-I'm fine. Let's go," Ruby tried to reassure her sister. Yang gave an awry nod before opening the back door and running inside, the younger girl in tow. They paled however upon seeing the front door knocked off its hinges resting on the floor.

"Oh no! Yang!?" Ruby cried, unsure of what to do next.

_"I got'cha three! C'mon boys let's take our prize back to the truck." _The same voice of the Bandit leader sounded from upstairs. "Ruby, over here!" Yang whisper shrieked. The younger girl looked to Yang who was hiding behind a nearby munitions crate in the corner of the store. Seeing as there was no way they could take him on.

Several sets of steps came down the staircase, peeking over the box Yang watched as the leader left first, followed by his cronies, she almost screamed as she saw Raven, Qrow, and Tukson thrashing in their grasps.

Prisoners.

"Let me go you low-life Bandit scum!" Qrow exclaimed, he was silenced however by a heavy hit to the back of his head. Ruby couldn't bring herself to look, the grunts of pain coming from Raven and Qrow slowly made her eyes well up, her body racking and desperately trying to hold back from bawling.

"Load 'em up with the whatever else we's got. Boss Is gonna give us a big reward for this batch." The leader gave one final command. They exited the store, and not soon after the sound of engines starting up broke the silent air. Not caring anymore, Ruby dashed out from cover and directly to the door, he pushed it open, no paying the blood sickened handle any mind.

"Ruby wait!" Yang tried to stop her, but Ruby was just too fast.

The crimsonette watched as the trucks pulled away. With them they took whatever gear they could scavenge along with a dozen prisoners.

"No NO _**NO!**_" Ruby fell to her knees, tears cascading down her face, watching as some of the only family she had left was being taken away. Yang came charging out not soon after, the town now eerily silent. Around her lie dead townsfolk, empty bullet casings, and ruins of homes. She watched the heartbreaking sight of her sister crying on the sand.

What the hell just happened?

Yang dogtrotted over to the distraught Ruby but gave the girl some personal space. The scarlet teen was still dazed, racking in fear. She wiped the tears from her eyes; only to see a far more horrendous sight. Her hands slick with blood from the door. The girl lurched back and screamed, the memory of what she did to that Bandit coming back instantaneously.

"I can't..." she muttered. Ruby felt her stomach flip again but this time she couldn't hold it back. Yang walked over and held the crimson hair back as Ruby retched on the sand, disgusted with herself for what she just did.

"I killed someone... Yang..." she sputtered with a shaky voice. It was her first _real _encounter with a Bandit. Not the usual Cactus or small Grimm she's used to fighting. No, this was a living - breathing person.

"Ruby it's..." Yang fought hard with herself not to submit to the same sorrow Ruby was currently facing. Her bug sister skills were really being strained at this point. "You did what you had to do, it's just... I don't-"

Yang felt herself immediately wrapped in an extremely tight hug, the smaller girl softly sobbing into her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm here." She soothed. There wasn't much time however. As soon as the word spreads of a ruined town; scavengers will show up and finish the job. "Ruby I'm sorry, but... we have to go."

Ruby blanched, but internally agreed with what Yang proposed. She quickly wiped her hands off on her jeans and then dried her face off with her collar. "Just be strong, okay?"

Ruby didn't give a reply, instead she pulled herself together and brushed past Yang, back into their home. The blonde followed suit, still shook by this horrendous day. Horrendous, but part of daily life in a land like this. "Yang... w-what now?" Ruby quietly asked.

"We grab what we can... and... we leave."

"And go after them right?" Ruby almost pleaded.

"I'm sorry sis, but we can't. We're not ready, but." Yang stood tall and held Ruby by her shoulders. "We leave, we practice, and one day, I promise you. Well find them." Her tone was near aggressive, some pent up anger clearly being used.

"O-Okay, promise?"

"Promise."

_**######**_

_Present..._

Reminisce was something Ruby assumed ran in the Xiao Long bloodline. As that was she currently found herself doing. By blood she's a Xiao Long, but by choice she's a Rose. Her mother's maiden name. From that day on, she'd wanted to be called that. To honor what she's lost, especially her mother.

Yang did see that promise through however. But the results it yielded just made things worse rather than better. Upon tracking them down; Ruby and Yang, fifteen and seventeen at that time, came up empty handed. Turns out Raven and Qrow had escaped and were out roaming the desert somewhere. After that the sisters gave up. To many close calls with death told them not to try and investigate their whereabouts. Maybe fate would make them cross paths, but for now they've their own lives to attend to.

Now, Ruby and Yang had stopped off in a large town called Beacon. Beacon was a massive trading hub and practically the largest and safest place to be in the wasteland. Roughly three times the size of Signal, Beacon was forged of the same build philosophy, but there were mostly rundown brick buildings and an actual Road that ran through town. Technicals would come and go, guns were bought and sold, and bars would remain open 24/7 to cater to the needs of Merchants, Mercenaries, and even Bandits.

The now nineteen year old girl currently sits outside of a small grungy-looking bar known as the 'Purple Nevermore' she opted not to go in as the scene inside wasn't really her thing and told Yang she'd just wait outside.

So she did.

For almost four hours now.

It didn't bother her much, she kinda fit in around here. Her clothing hadn't changed much over the years. She now wore a red, black, and white plaid shirt, but with the same torn jeans, goggles, the works. However the once empty holster is now replaced with a sheath containing her prized blade; Crescent Rose. On her back was a rifle, but one that wasn't hers. It was her mother's.

The Atlas gun Raven had talked about all those years ago was in fact Summer's rifle. It's name is Morningstar, an elegant rifle with a black and crimson paint job, and formed plating gave it a perfectly smooth and consistent design. The regular scope on top had been swapped out for a digital compensation rangefinder, and a bi-pod was mounted on the end.

It was her pride and joy.

She continued to eye the gun, fiddling with the bi-pod to pass the time. There was a radio nearby blasting some godawful Death Metal, and multiple drunk patrons lolling around.

"Hey Ruby!" A familiar chipper voice sounded.

"Finally." Ruby threw her hands up in exasperation and jogged up to Yang who'd just left the bar. "Do you have to yell?" Ruby questioned.

"I would say something, but I can't, look, the unthinkable has happened." Yang said with excitement.

"You gambled our money away. Again?"

"No! And hey, that only happened once, stupid Merchant was using a stacked deck or whatever. Look, I found us a job to end all jobs."

Ruby sighed, last time Yang said that it ended up with her getting bit by a rabid Grimm, one of those ones with two legs. "I'm not being Grimm bait again."

"No no. It's got to do with those Atlesian jerkwads." Ruby gestured for Yang to continue. The blonde grinned madly and pulled a map out from one of the various pockets on her belt, she unfurled it and pointed to a spot almost in the middle of the desert. "Rumor has it that Atlas is transporting some _pretty expensive _stuff for the Schnee's. There's a dead drop here," Yang slammed her finger onto the map. "See the thing is, there's a ten minute delay until the retrieval guys come and get it to transport it the rest of the way, so-"

"You want us to steal it?" Ruby cut Yang off in a complete monotone.

"Exactly, so here's what we do; we get out there, open the shipment, grab what we can and then run back." Yang explained like it was the best plan in history.

"Don't they put trackers in that stuff? And I'm pretty sure we're not going to be alone when we get there." Ruby picked at her sisters so-called 'plan'.

"Ah ah ah, sis. See if we... I think... alright look do you have a better idea?" Yang questioned. She brought out her short range yellow and black shotgun, otherwise known as what she called; 'Radiant Zhu' gripped by her plated gloves Ember and Celica. The gun itself shot incendiary rounds, it wasn't built by the Schnee's however. The gun itself was an import coming from the tech forges of Haven. Haven guns excel in sheer elemental power, sometimes even more than the Schnee's. Haven stole the design plans for elemental weaponry a long time ago, most of them are cheap knockoffs, but the good rare ones like Yang's shotgun are incredibly deadly.

Watching her crazy sister already to go out and fight Ruby sighed by smiled. The job sounds ludicrous but she'd never pass up some one on one time with her beloved Morningstar.

Ruby slung her rifle back and eyed Yang. "Next time I get to pick what we do."

"Sure thing sis." Yang was secretly crossing her fingers behind her back.

So long as no one else gets involved this should be pretty easy, right? Stealing from the richest group in the land wasn't something Ruby had planned on doing today, but this is Remnant after all.

But for them, this job would spell their most zanin fueled, death-defying adventure yet.

_**A/N **_**Alright, that turned out way longer than anticipated, but meh, writing action scenes like that was fucking fun as hell. Also: how'd I do with them? They're my first so let me know. As per the weapons, each character will have a unique melee weapon which is named after their canon weapon. Thanks to Shadowyman, we've come up with awesome names which are loaded with references, so try and figure them out!**

**I reworked some of this and the pairings are: Cinderruby, Banana Split, Monochrome, Crosshares, and more. This story will feature quite a few characters but Cinderruby and Banana Split are the main focus.**

**I know there's a lot of info in there too, so don't hesitate to PM me about it, as you can probably tell this AU is going to be frigging massive, so stay tuned!**


	2. Doomsday

_**A/N SORRY FOR THE DELAY. **_

**50 follows! Thanks guys! So far so good is all I can say really, I'll be constantly improving as I do this plus I'm having a ton of fun typing it so win-win! Sorry if I missed your review or PM, last few weeks have been overly crazy but things should return to normal now. I like to keep all of you in the loop so stay tuned.**

**Also, I'd like to mention that names of chapters are songs I listen to while I type these up. Some of them relate pretty well, so go give em' a listen.**

**Thanks for the superb support and read on.**

Chapter 2. Doomsday

_'Here we go...'_

"Oh man, we're gonna die on this one, I can see it now." A voice droned. If one was to explain said voice, it could easily be labeled as "wise - guy" or "smug". Such was that voice of none other than-

"Mercury, you're starting to sound like a broken record." A different voice -female- to be a tad more specific replied. Her words were filled with intense annoyance.

"Hey," Mercury fired back "I'm an awesome record."

"Yeah, one that I can take and use for target practice." Emerald tutted.

Just another day in paradise.

Or so it _had _been.

In a remote location sat a 'town' but in all actuality it was an abandoned Atlas waystation once used for supply storage. The 'town' was made up of a large central building erected out of steel and concrete -if there was one thing Atlas could do; it was make fortifications. It was three storys in the center with two smaller single-story buildings on each side. Surrounding the structures were many smaller shanty homes built by none other than the bandit's who lived there, and around that was a concrete fortified wall with a main gate at the North side and a smaller one at the South side next to a garage. A compound of sorts.

For Mercury and Emerald, this place was home. But to someone else it was much more.

Mercury Black: a tall lithe individual with hair perfectly representing his namesake. The young man was clad in black under clothing with modified light armor on top, also of a dark sheen color. It was armor he'd 'looted' from the place when they got here a few years back, alongside that her wore dark pants with various straps for knives and magazines with dark silver combat boots covering his feet.

Strapped on his back was his pride and joy of a shotgun, a long-range assault shotgun with a good rate of fire he liked to call 'First Matter'. Even though it was a shotgun, the long range capabilities of it always landed him the "First" shot in an engagement. He always said there was more to the name but never told anyone. The gun also followed his dark theme with a mostly blacked-out paint-job save for the chrome stripe that ran along the side, a common theme of Atlas guns. The barrel was elongated and a set of rails and a scope handled aiming instead of iron sights.

"You know why don't we just leave and go do our own thing?" Mercury questioned Emerald. The dark-skinned girl continued to walk next to him, seemingly lost in thought. Emerald and Mercury have known each other for a long time. They used to be con-artists when they were teenagers, but after Atlas and the Schnee's really started doing damage; they up and left and became freelancing bandits. Many assumed they were a couple, but Emerald had her eyes a totally different person. Their employer, actually.

Emerald stood a tad bit shorter than Mercury, her most defining features were her crimson eyes and her minty green hair cut to perfection. She was dressed in much lighter clothing than Mercury, clothed in a olive green torn - up tank top, beige jeans, and tall brown boots. Each piece of clothing highlighting the feminine features of her body perfectly.

Resting on each of her thighs were two identical metal holsters with matching guns in them. Two modern hand-cannons she called 'Beryl' and 'Basilisk'. They both were also of Atlas Manufacturing but with a nice little twist someone threw in along the line;

An Elemental touch.

The guns both had the capacity to charge bullets with a caustic side effect, allowing them to chew through metal and flesh like nothing. The guns were built of an elegant design, obviously showing the Schnee's had some involvement in them. The parts were thin and angular, painted a desert camouflage with green highlights, and emitting a dull green glow to show it's an elemental.

She also carried around a scythe-like blade colored much the same. Always there in case her guns proved ineffective.

"We're fine here Mercury. We have been for what; three years now?"

"Yeah, but why's Cinder always being such a bitch about things? Same thing goes for Roman." Mercury half explained and half complained.

"They're only like that to you because you're a real ass sometimes." Emerald held back a laugh.

The silver haired guy glared at his friend, "Whatever, better being an ass than kissing it all the time." He spat.

The mint-haired girl stopped dead and returned Mercury's glare, "What's that supposed to mean?" She pointed at him.

"Oh Cinder I'll do night-watch, oh Cinder you're so nice, oh Cinder I'd really like to~" Mercury's mock trailed off upon taking in the seething glare the girl shot him. He would've honestly been frightened, if Emerald hadn't been blushing as well.

"I-I'm just trying to be nice!" She pushed him back.

"Haha, it's no secret. I mean everyone -even the dumbass bandits- know about how badly you want to get in Cinder's pants." He grinned malevolently. Once he got his cue, there was no holding back his tantalizing attitude.

The dark-skin on Emerald's face heated at Mercury's 'statement'. The girl clear clenched her hands into fists and eyed him again. 'I'll give you a headstart." She threatened.

"You're only proving my point."

"J-Just shut-up. Moron."

Mercury gave a mockful and nonchalant shrug before resuming his pace alongside his irritated friend. Emerald's aspirations aside, there was work that needed to be done. Today's job was much bigger than the usual ones Cinder would send them on. Normally she'd request one or two of them go and do whatever it was she tasked them with, but today required not one, not two, but _three _people.

The both of them entered the smaller side of the waystation, the smaller building had been retrofitted to function as an armory of sorts with ammunition and tools littered about the messy tables and workbenches. Upon entering through the open bay door, the medium sized room seemed empty, but the dull clattering coming from around the far corner said otherwise.

"Roman, you ready yet?" Mercury questioned, his tone still coming down from its arrogant twist.

_"Hang on!"_

The clattering ceased and out from around the stone corner came a tall man no older than thirty. His hair was a bright titian the swooped off to one side, and orange tinted goggles on the front. Atop his head was a sharp bowler hat with the Ace of hearts tucked off to the side. His clothing choice consisted of a long white duster with black slacks and a deep maroon shirt underneath, all topped off with brown combat boots. He served mostly as Cinder's right hand.

Sort of.

Whenever she isn't around, Roman asserts himself as "man in charge" despite the annoyance of others. Whenever Cinder IS around; he cowers in fear. Cinder has known him long enough to know that physical violence towards him is the best form of punishment.

"Look, the brats are back." Roman said with a melancholy sigh.

"Good one old man." Mercury retorted. Arms crossed.

"Hey don't start you two, Cinder will kick the shit out of us if we don't leave soon." Emerald cut in. "Remember what happened last time?" Emerald internally shuddered. Last time they were late with something resulted in the three of them holding up targets for Cinder to shoot at. It wouldn't have been that scary, as Cinder's amazing with a rifle -when she's _not_ intoxicated.

Both of them turned to face her, "Oh, Mercury she's right. We wouldn't want to ruin that one chance she's got with Cinder now would we?" His mouth twisted into a smile, words laced with sarcasm.

"Ha, yeah. We most certainly wouldn't. Hey where's Cinder anyway?"

Roman shrugged, "Drinking blood, eating household pets..."

"Okay, that's far-fetched. Even for you." Emerald responded. Nobody badmouths Cinder on her watch. "She's waiting for us to go, so... let's go."

"Someone's eager. For more than one reason I assume?" Roman teased.

Emerald blushed and pushed past them, "Whatever, can we just go please? I don't want to be drunk target practice again."

"Fine, but the co-ords Cin gave me are way out there. Shouldn't we take a vehicle?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah and create a big dust trail for everyone on this side of the desert to see, great idea." The eldest of the three spat.

"Man, did you forget to take your medication this morning?" The silver haired shooter responded.

Roman glared and went for Mercury, "Why you little-"

"GUYS!"

Emerald's shrill stopped both of them from getting into a brawl. They turned to face her again, this time a tad more apprehensive.

"We're walking. Despite how much of a prick Roman is, he's right. According to Cinder this is a big one. We need to keep low. That includes all your idle bitching."

"Alright, alright! You've made your point. Let's just get this over with." Roman tossed his hands in the air and walked away from the younger duo. Mercury shrugged and walked away not soon after. The one in green heaved a sigh and followed suit as well.

Maybe this would give her a chance with Cinder...

Probably not. But a girl can dream can't she?

So, the trio set out. Roughly a four hour walk ahead of them. Roman strolled in front, Mercury took up the middle, and Emerald occupied the rear. The girl gave another disgruntled sigh.

The job Cinder had sent them on was shoddy to say the least. Apparently, Atlas was running some shipment out to a dead-drop location. The Schnee's would later some and pick it up and the deal would close. Emerald had outright said no at first, but regretted that decision immediately. Word was the shipment was loaded with some crazy tech from Atlas R&amp;D. Cinder had said that the Schnee's would develop something, Atlas would test it, and then send it back for improvements. If they were to "interrupt" this process, the tech could be worth a fortune to any other manufacturers wanting to get their hands on it.

Emerald had no clue as to how Cinder had so much knowledge on Atlas protocols, but didn't have the guts to ask.

There was only one slight downside to said plan;

Timing.

If they showed up too early: Atlas would see them and gun them down. If they came too late: the Schnee's would be there to gun them down instead.

The would have to hit it right in between that ten-minute window before the Schnee's showed up. Emerald wasn't planning on dying today, so she was the one tasked with this job rather than Roman. The minted girl was just more reliable. Cinder assumed the girls drive was from her pure skill, but in truth Emerald had... different motives.

Different, totally far-fetched, and kinda lewd motives.

Whatever gets the job done.

"This better not be for nothing..." Were her last words before leaving. Wondering how Cinder would react when she came back from the mission with an armful of crazy tech.

"She'd love me."

_'So long as this goes as planned'_

_**######**_

_Hours Later..._

"Can't... go... further. Feet... burning..."

"Just a little more Rubes."

Yang had said that an immeasurable amount of times since she and her sister had set out. Usually, Ruby was up for traveling on foot, as it was her preferable way of getting around. However, the furthest she'd ever traveled on foot was only a handful of miles -maybe two hours tops.

They'd been at this for six now.

Ruby had basically gotten on her hands and knees to try coax Yang into finding a vehicle, but the blonde just didn't want to hear it. Said something about "getting out and seeing nature" -which didn't make a grain of sense considering they live in, you know, a wasteland.

So they walked.

And walked.

Under the scorching sun.

The only thing that was nice about it was the route Yang had chosen. They chose the outlying salt-flats as the optimal route, plain and simple. It was tenfold better than trudging through hills or through a couple of crags.

By now it was late afternoon, the sun resting in the middle of the horizon. The sky a clear blue with not a cloud as far as the eye could see.

"Yang..." Ruby whined, "It's-" The girl quickly pulled up her rifle and looked into the small display next to the scope. The screen displaying critical information such as wind speed, temperature, visibility, and a slew of other telemetry. "It's, one hundred and five Fahrenheit. Can't we take a break...?" To emphasize her point, she wiped the beading sweat off of her forehead.

"No can do sister. This job is very... time sensitive." The blonde replied. For one reason or another, the heat didn't bother her at all. She was warm, but not sweating bullets like Ruby. Yang ceased her stroll so Ruby could catch up with her. She eyed the crimsonette -feeling a little guilty. The girl trudged behind, her plaid shirt tied around her waist and her black tank top visibly soaked from perspiration. Her short hair was matted to her forehead, and she held her rifle in such a lazy grip Yang feared she'd drop the thing and one of them would end up shot.

"Look, how about this: when we're done we'll head back into town and you can have all the sweets you want. My treat." Yang affirmed with a grin.

"That makes no sense. We'll have enough money so I can just pay for myself, duh."

"Fine, we'll do... something. Now C'mon, almost there."

Ruby groaned, "Hnnng, Yang how the heck are you not dying of heat?"

"Psh, heat doesn't bother this." Yang gestured to herself, her clothes not showing a single sweat spot. "Guess it's from all those times Qrow and I went out to hunt."

"Lucky you..."

Yang didn't give a reply this time. Instead, she allowed for Ruby to fully catch up before resuming her brisk pace. She hadn't been lying however, as within just a few more paces, they arrived at the destination outlined on the map. It wasn't much to look at. They had come to a rundown road.

That's basically It.

Just an old road that ran east-to-west for miles, with the salt-flats on one side and a ditch with some rocky hills on the other. Cacti dotting the landscape.

"Please don't tell me we came to the wrong spot." Ruby complained. She surveyed the area, no life changing shipment in sight.

"The map says it's- hey! Over there, perfect timing!" Yang looked up, and pointed to a small crate resting in the shadow of a rock roughly the size of a car.

"That's... it?" The scarlet girl droned. "Y'now I thought the deal of a lifetime would look much more appealing."

"Oh stop. Just help me grab it." The blonde jogged over to the metal container. It was rectangular shaped. 5 feet in length, 2 feet wide, and maybe a foot tall. It more looked like a chest than a crate. On the top was a bolded letter 'A' representing the Atlesian troops. The blonde looked to the opposite side and raised an eyebrow, "RKJ-MK5?, The hell does that mean?"

Ruby started to get nervous, "Means we shouldn't touch it, and just run away." She said, stormy eyes darting around.

"No way! Help me find something to open it with, quick."

Ruby sighed, she looked to the dusty ground for a rock or anything good enough to bust the hinges on the crate. Only to find something completely opposite;

Other people.

Coming from the rocky hill side of the road were three figures. Two the same height and one a little taller. Immediately she ran back to Yang, who was still fiddling with the crate. "Yang, Yang, we have to go. Right now." Ruby panicked.

"What wh-"

"There's people coming!" The crimsonette grabbed onto her blonde sisters shoulders and gave them a good shake. All while pointing in the general direction of where these "people" were coming from.

"I don't see... holy crap there is." The blonde noticed the possible hostiles approaching. "Uh-oh"

_"HEY!" _One of them shouted. The voice was female, and rather peeved. It was too late for Ruby and Yang to flee, and even if it wasn't; running out into the open wasn't the best strategy right now.

"Ah, shoot. Get down!" Yang half shouted. She ushered Ruby over to the rock that was shadowing the crate and took up a defensive position. "What do we do?!" Ruby shrieked.

"Calm down, it s only three. We can take em' easy peasy."

Ruby peeked over the rock to see the trio of unknowns now roughly fifty feet away.

_"Don't just stand there! Shoot them!" _

Ruby picked up the voice of a man, maybe late twenties. Before she could dwell on that though any further, a shot rang out, followed by another, and then another. Judging by the sound; the girl determined it was pistol fire. She unfurled her beloved Morningstar, placed the bipod on the rock, and all but shoved her eyes into the digital rangefinder.

"Here we go!" Yang yelled, grinning madly. She too peeked over the rock, only to notice there was now two individuals rather than three. "Huh?" She reached for her shotgun: Radiant Zhu, only to feel something press against the back of her head.

"Don't even think about it sweetheart." A sly voice ordered.

Yang dropped her hands immediately, Ruby on the other hand went completely rigid, freezing on the spot. "You too" the man barked. The crimsonette mentally kicked herself, this guy was quick, quicker than the time it took her to set up Morningstar;

Less than four seconds.

"Up" He stated. Yang and Ruby followed his order. The both shuffled up, Ruby's rifle falling off the small rock with a soft clatter. Yang was the first to turn and face the assailant. She was wholeheartedly expecting some bandit or mercenary, but the well dressed, orange-haired man that came into view sent a chill up her spine. In his hand was a revolver. He kept switching his aim between the two sisters.

"Guns, hand them to me, now."

Once more they listened. Not quite sure how to react to a situation like this. One they'd never been in before.

"Answer me this Blondie-" He put the gun to her forehead, "How'd you find this?" Ruby let out a silent 'eep' at the sight of her sister practically facing death's door. Frightened by the sight.

Yang wasn't about to let this guy off so easy, "Who's asking?"

_"Someone you don't want to play smart with." _A second voice intervened. It was male, lighter in tone, but smooth. Shortly after, a guy, who looked no older than Yang came in beside the older man. His hair was a tousled silver, mostly dressed in black, and a nice-looking shotgun in his grip. It's black paint job caught the sun at just the right angle to put spots in Yang's vision.

Fear and rage rose in the blonde. Fear for her and Ruby's lives, as well as how easy these guys got the jump on them. Tactically so. Draw their attention with gunfire while one sweeps in.

_"Roman just shoot them." _Now a third voice but in. The same female one Ruby heard just a minute ago. A dark-skinned girl with minty hair and clad in rather revealing clothing stepped in. Her crimson eyes narrowing at the oldest of the three.

"I could... but where's the fun in that? Need to lead them on fir-"

**'BEEP - BEEP - BEEP'**

A modestly loud alarm started to sound from the nearby crate. Startling all five of them. "It's beeping, why is it beeping?" The silver-haired one pointed out.

"Ugh, crap..." The female sighed. She pointed down the road, directly at something that was kicking up a small dust cloud. "We're late!"

"Wha'dya mean we're... oh for crying out loud..."

A vehicle emerged, speeding towards them. It was easy enough to decipher the fact that it was of Schnee manufacturing. It resembled a regular Technical, but was given extra armor plating painted white, a closed in cab, and the deck-mounted gun was missing.

The hefty vehicle swerved up, powersliding a mere twenty feet away. The thick front doors creaked open and two occupants stepped out.

"Step away from the container!" A gruff male voice voice shouted. All eyes averted to him. It was an Atlas trooper, clad in the standard Atlesian armor consisting of deep green fatigues, plates covering the legs and chest, as well as imposing shoulder guards. He wasn't wearing a helmet, but rather a matching ballcap and orange tinted goggles. The trooper followed his statement by drawing his rather pitiful pistol and taking a defensive kneeling position by the front bumper of the truck. "I-I said step away!" He repeated. This time his voice faltered a bit, realizing the stacked odds.

Meanwhile on the opposite side of the vehicle, a smaller man exited. He was dressed in a prim looking suit mostly white in color. He retained two things the most didn't: hygiene and a tick for murder.

"Gimme your names! N-Now!" Her barked. "O-Or I'll shoot!"

"Well there... guy, the are names Roman, Mercury and Emerald. And it looks to me like you're-" He, and Mercury both pointed their guns at him "-outnumbered." He took off his hat and made a small bow to the trooper before clicking back the hammer on his imposing revolver.

The Schnee representative was shot first. A loud clash had rung out from Mercury's shotgun. The concentrated spread landed mostly on the reps chest -killing him instantly.

"Oh, shit..." The trooper sighed and reached for his earpiece. "This is private Adams, shipment is compromised. I repeat, shipment, is, compro- gaaaghhh!" The soldier fell backwards, his gloved hand clutching a sizable hole embedded his trachea, rendering him unable to scream.

Roman went wide-eyed at his own gun, seeing as it wasn't him who fired. He looked to Mercury who was equally puzzled. In sync they both turned to see Emerald, teeth clenched with one pistol pointed at Ruby and Yang and the other raised at the dead soldier. They all watched as the caustic round finished it's work on the soldiers neck.

"Someone's mad..." Mercury muttered.

"The hell you do that for?!" Roman shouted.

"Oh I don't know. We're late, and here you are wasting time by telling him our names! Like, really?!" By then Emerald resumed pointing both Beryl and Basilisk at Ruby and Yang.

**'BEEP - BEEP - BEEP'**

"Ugh would someone shut that thing up?" Mercury whined.

**"Attention, any Atlesians in the area, RK5 shipment has been compromised by bandits. Immediate intervention is necessary. Failsafe tracker active."**

"What was that?"

Roman and Mercury swiveled around, surveyed the area for the source of the sound, and got their answer upon finding the dead soldiers radio in the sand.

"Are you kidding me!"

"That's... not good."

"We're so dead."

Those had been their responses to this mission taking its final nosedive.

"We need to go, right, now." The silver-haired shotgunner placed First-Matter onto his back again and rushed over to Emerald.

"Much as I'd hate to say it; he's right. This place will be crawling with those pricks soon and I'd rather be Cinder's target practice then theirs." Roman holstered his revolver and stood by Emerald.

"Good thinking old man. Now someone help me with this."

Emerald started to take deep breaths, her frustration with Roman and Mercury reaching it's limit. "Yeah, great idea. Let's just take the crate that's got a tracker in it back to our camp, it's not like Atlas will trace it or anything." She stated with a voice that mocked Mercury's own.

"Screw it then. We'll take them." Roman pointed at the stoic girls still at gunpoint.

"Roman, you know Cinder's rules about prisoners righ-"

"Yada Yada Yada! I'm with him. Let's grab them instead."

Emerald glared at her two accomplices. Before she could rebuttal Roman jogged up behind Ruby. "Sorry Red, but better you be target practice than me." He proceeded to pull out his revolver again. He twirled it around so the grip was facing outwards, and bashed Ruby in the back of the head with one swift flicking motion.

"Ruby- agh!" Yang cried out. Mercury kicked her in the side, averting her attention away from her pistol-whipped sister.

Mercury didn't even say a word. Her flipped his shotgun around, and did much the same as Roman had done. Giving her a good hit to the back of her head. Just enough to knock her unconscious.

"C'mon C'mon! Let's go!" Roman shouted. He watched as Mercury hogtied both of the girls with some spare cable he was originally going to trade for scrap, and began dragging Yang off by her legs. Emerald sighed and decided to take Ruby -still wanting nothing to do with this plan. Once that was taken care of, Roman picked up the girls guns. He sighed in content as the guns looked to valuable to throw away. "I'll take these..." He remarked. Slinging the guns on his back and following close behind his subordinates.

_**######**_

_"Would you stop freaking out!'_

_'She's going to kill us.'_

_'She is not.'_

_'S-She'll kill us and feed us to the bandits or something.'_

_'Em! Would you chill out!'_

_'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap...'_

_'Just go with Mercury here, and get Cinder.'_

The muffled voices was all that Yang could hear. There was two of them. Sounded familiar. The next realization she came upon was the intense migraine thumping in the back her head alongside the immobile feeling in her legs.

Then blonde cracked her eyelids open -only to immediately resent doing it. The blinding sun pierced through and only addled her migraine even more. She attempted it again, only slower. As slowly as she opened them; more and more had become apparent to her.

Her head lulled to the right, she saw only the worn and heavy boots of bandits. Her eyes traced upwards and made contact with several bandits. All of them gave her scrutinizing stares. Memories started to return to her. The job, the shipment, those three people, and-

"Ruby?!" Yang strained. "Dammit." She cussed, realizing the cable across her torso rendering her arms immobile. She jerked her head to the opposite side and nearly screamed at the unconscious Ruby that was dragged alongside her.

_'Shit. Where's my gun?'_

Suddenly she felt her legs drop and a scraping against her back cease. The blonde looked straight up at the figure that shadowed over her.

"Great, you're awake. And just in time for your appointment." A man with pastel-orange hair quipped.

"Look here, this one's wakin' too boss." A second voice notified the first. The new voice Yang didn't recognize.

"Would you just stand there and be quiet. You're only here to watch the prisoner because there isn't enough hands to go around. Bandits I swear..."

Yang turned her head again, and lo and behold, a grungy - looking Bandit was the one who kept an eye on Ruby.

_'Where's the other two...' _ Yang wondered.

"Ugh... My head..."

"Ruby!" Yang beckoned.

"Yang...? W-What's going on?" Ruby muttered.

"Hey! Ya'll heard Romano! So shut-up!" The unintelligent bandit squawked.

"I meant you. Not them. And it's Roman, not Romano. You know you're really solidifying the many assumptions people have about bandits."

The mention of Roman inched Yang's memory further.

_'That was their names. Roman, Emerald, and Mercury...'_

"Roman! C'mon, she's inside." The male voice from earlier called out. Yang identified him as that Mercury guy.

"Alright. Show-time. You, untie them."

The bandit followed his order, and untied both Ruby and Yang.

"Stand up." Roman had his revolver pointing down at them. Yang was the first to get up. Wincing at the pain around her ankles from were the tight-wound cable had nearly cut off the circulation of blood to her feet. Yang saw that Ruby was having much more trouble getting back up, and decided to lend a hand. Just as her arm outstretched; Roman's gun came between her hand and Ruby's.

"She's a big girl. Let her get up on her own." The man suggested.

In that moment, Yang had honestly thought of an attempt to escape. It would've been simple. Roman's gun was down. She could have easily kicked it away, went for Roman, and then freed Ruby. However the same bandit was still idling by. Trigger happy with an MG in his grasp.

"Alright let's go." Roman pressed the barrel against Yang's neck and pushed her forward. The bandit did much the same with a frightened Ruby. Yang took the chance to get a good glimpse of the building they were entering. It looked to be an outpost or waystation of sorts. The 'Atlas' imprinting by the entrance made her cringe with nervousness.

_'Are these guys working for Atlas?' _

Yang was unable to carry on with her thoughts. She was violently pushed into the building, and led down a short corridor that led into a wide, but not very deep, high-ceiling room. Dark green peeling paint covered the walls, and the floor was made up of cracked and frail concrete.

To the far left were several weapon crates from all different manufacturers. Schnee, Atlas, and Mantle were the ones that stuck out the most. On the opposite side of the room were several empty lockers and safes. Standing by them was the two individuals from earlier: Mercury and Emerald. They both showed a nervous expression, Emerald was fiddling with something in her hands and Mercury tried to make his presence unknown.

On the wall directly facing the entrance of the narrow room was a large map encompassing the entire wasteland. On top of it were several smaller photos of various points of interest connected by lines drawn on the map. Some of them had 'X's while others had writing that looked hastily jotted down.

The last thing Yang had taken note of was the a woman. A particular woman standing in front of the map with her back to them, seemingly unaware of their presence. Roman handed Yang off to the bandit and stepped forward.

"Cinder?" Roman asked, he knew that the minute her name was mentioned, his fate was sealed.

The woman in question made a slow turnaround. The movement was exaggerated enough to make all of the room's occupants rigid with nerves.

She finished her gesture and faced them. She was imposing to say the least. A young woman not a day older than twenty-six, her skin pale, her eyes a smoldering gold, and her ebony tresses swept back over her left ear. Cinder was garbed in an ensemble that contrasted the average bandit leader attire greatly. It started off with a basic black long-sleeve that hugged her figure perfectly, her legs were clad in worn maroon jeans with high-riding combat boots setting just below the knee. On top of her top was a short jacket ending just below her bust with the right sleeve torn off. Replacing the sleeve was bits of maroon and black armor taken from a high-ranking Atlas officer with black gloves to match. The broad shoulder plate had an odd looking crest painted on it. There was also bits of similar armor covering her left leg, combined with various packs and holsters. All of this topped of with an assault rifle resting on her back.

The intimidating woman eyed Roman up and down. Deep down she knew he had no good news to bring. Evident by the lack of gloating he usually spewed after a successful job.

"So what happened?" Her tone was the perfect mix of sultry and aggression. "And lie to me, _I want you to lie to me_."

Roman felt his soul leave his body. Astonished by how Cinder already knew what was coming.

"Here's the thing... we...uh, heh..."

"We didn't get it." Emerald cracked under the pressure. She hoped the whole 'Truth will set you free' thing would get her some slack in their situation.

The room fell eerily silent. From what Yang saw, the woman twitched at the words: 'Didn't get it'. Her body visibly strained. "Is there a tale to tell?" She prodded.

"We... ran into some complications." Mercury broke his quiet state.

"Complications?" Cinder's tone had changed to gritty. Trying to hold back on lashing out.

"Some 'mercenaries' were at the shipment when we got there. They killed our short window to grab the shipment." Emerald explained. "The retrieval team came in to pick up the shipment, we killed them, but one of them was able to call for backup and activate some kind of tracker. We... ran after that."

"You killed them but not the mercs? You're joking." Cinder slowly felt a twitch to reach for her rifle kick in.

"No we took them in instead." Mercury nodded off to the corner of the room.

Cinder's eyes followed Mercury's gesture to where a bandit had a gun pointed at two girls. A blonde one and one with crimson tinted hair. She raised her gloved hand and called the bandit and the 'guests' over. Then no name bandit forced the girls down onto their knees while he stood idly by.

"You mean to tell me that you showed up, pissed yourselves at the sight of a couple of girls, shot the wrong people, and brought them back here -to this place- alive?!" The ebony-haired woman's tone had raised to a shout. She unfurled her rifle, aiming it in no specific direction. "Give me one reason I shouldn't take Scoria and immolate, all, of, you."

She pointed the gun at the bandit's head. He immediately dropped his own gun and froze. The muzzle of Cinder's gun inches from his eye. "I don' wanna die!" He squalled.

Scoria was a gun of Haven manufacturing and Cinder's prized inverse-modular assault rifle. The guns sheen looked to be made of black sandstone with the chassis painted black and a glossy red stripe that ran down both sides. The magazine was mounted behind the grip for faster reloads, the barrel had been lengthened, and the iron-sights were replaced with a wide-angle scope. Then rifle also emitted a dim orange in random places, signaling it was elemental of the incendiary flavor.

"I'm waiting for an answer Roman."

"We didn't want to come back empty-handed." Roman pleaded his terrible point.

"Two mindless idiots over valuable tech -that's a _great _trade-off!" Cinder shoved the bandit down onto his knees. She decided to use him as an example -a good one at that. She swung the rifle around and gripped it like a melee weapon.

"You!"

_**'CLASH!' **_

"Are!"

_**'CLASH!' **_

"Useless!"

_**'CLASH!' **_

Cinder finally let out her anger and frustration at yet another failed job. Her victim was the bandit. She brought her rifle down on his head several times before giving him one final kick. Roman, Emerald, Mercury, as well as the two girls all watched in horror as the bandit twitched and sputtered in his own blood.

"Millions... gone." She muttered.

While the four of them looked on in horror at Cinder's outlash. Roman eyed the situation with malice and contempt. He was growing sick and tired of Cinder's various 'policies' and her overwhelming greed. She was surely not the same woman he'd met many years ago.

"Kill them." She stated. "Kill these two." She looked down at the two reasons that ruined all of this in the first place. "I want them dead and Nevermore's picking at their bodies -understood? I'll deal with you when I don't feel like-"

"Boss! Boss! We gotta situation! " A masked bandit jogged into the room, waving bis hands erratically. "Them Atlas dudes are comin'!"

"Ergh! You'd better be lying."

"I ain't! They comin' right at us. We seen em' from the roof."

"Shit..." Cinder sighed. She stormed out the front door of the building and around the side easternmost side where an emergency staircase led to the roof of the waystation. She blocked out the sun with her hand and scoped the landscape, saffron eyes went wide at the small convoy of Atlas technicals approaching. "As if this day couldn't get any better..."

The woman dashed back to the stairs and rushed down them. She came back to the room from before wearing a worried look. "They're coming... You idiots they probably tracked you!" Cinder knew she was right. The latter half of their ten minute window to grab the shipment made sure the winds in the desert brushed the sand back over their tracks. Making them much harder to trace. It also gave Cinder and her bandit's time to prepare just in case things did go south. The fact that the Atlesians were coming so soon meant there was no way her crew had the time they needed to prepare.

Cinder then noticed the glint of a pair of guns resting in the corner by the door. A red and black Atlas sniper, and an elemental Haven shotgun.

"Who's guns are those?" She barked.

"Ours." A small quiet voice said. She looked down to see the crimson-haired girls stormy eyes shimmering back.

"Is the sniper yours?"

"Uhh, well..."

"Well is it?!" Cinder shouted.

"Yeah its mine."

"Well than how about this Red. You're going to help me fend off Atlas, sound good?" Cinder resented herself asking for help, but right now wasn't the time for petty grudges. There was no way she'd let her camp get overrun by the group she despised the most.

"You can't!" The blonde squalled. Her outcry landed her a swift kick in the gut by Cinder's boot.

"I believe I can." Cinder remarked. "You got me into this mess, so you're helping me out of it."

Ruby could feel her eyes well up with tears. Too traumatized to even think what to do. She watched as Yang pulled herself back up. Groaning from Cinder's blow. Her eyes joined with Yang's lilac ones. The blonde gave her a faltering smile, "We'll find a way out of this sis. Don't cry." She consoled the smaller girl with an embrace.

Their moment was cut short when the clattering of metal on concrete sounded behind them. They both stood up and turned around. "Here." Cinder tossed them their guns. "Red you're with me on the roof. Roman you take this... bimbo and get some vehicles ready. You two," The ebony-haired woman glared at Mercury and Emerald. "Take some Bandits to the compound's gate, hold them off as long as you can. Do, you, un-der-stand? Or, should, I, talk, slow-er?"

They simply gave a meek nod and tore out the door.

"Roman? Should the blonde one try to leave, just kill her alright? Can you do that?"

Roman lulled his eyes and nodded. "C'mon you. We've got work to do." He grabbed Yang by the shoulder and pushed her towards a side door leading into a garage. Mouthing the word "Bitch" as he went.

Cinder was the last to leave with Ruby in tow. The two of them raced up the steps and onto the roof. Cinder groaned at how much closer to Atlas convoy was. She unfurled her rifle again and quickly swapped out the magazines. The woman got down into a kneeling posting and placed her eye into the guns mid-range scope.

Ruby copied Cinder's movements, albeit with much more hesitation. She knelt down and began priming her rangefinder for when the Atlesians got in range.

It didn't take long before they did. Four deep green technicals ascended on the waystation's front gate in a lined formation. Two of them pulled up first and swerved in opposing directions roughly forty feet from the gate. The other two filled the gap between and the four of them formed a vehicular barrier. The center two's mounted guns were occupied and trained in the open gate.

From the backs of the vehicles came groups of mercenary soldiers much like the one from earlier that day, armed with standard rifles and sidearms. From where Cinder was kneeling she could see Mercury and Emerald approach with a small group of bandits no more than twenty. They all stood back and took defensive positions by the main buildings and some of the shanty houses the bandits lived in.

The first of the troopers came in, guns raised and at the ready. To them the place looked abandoned, all of its occupants missing. Cinder could hear her the distant, "All clears" from the soldiers at they neared the main building.

It was quiet, minus the howling of the wind and-

"YEEAAAHAAAWWW! Time to clock in boys!" Several bandits made their presence known by jumping out of cover, guns blazing. Their ridiculous movement was good enough to get the jump on the first squad of Atlesians, mowing them down within minutes.

The second squad came through; this time much more tactical than the last. Roughly ten troops swarmed in and took defensive positions opposing the bandits own.

"Open fire!" One called out.

Emerald, who was still in cover, took the callout as an incentive to break from cover and start defending. The mint-haired girl pulled out both Beryl and Basilisk and slid across the sand into a knelt state. She caught the attention of three troops who opened fire on her. She narrowly evaded their shots with a sideways roll before bringing her pistols up and unleashing her own mayhem.

She smirked and squeezed one trigger after the other, the caustic muzzle flash made her from even more as the round flew and lodged itself in the chest of the first troop.

"Aaagghh! God!" He screamed, dropping his gun and watching the corrosive round burn through his chest plate and liquefy the flesh underneath. The trooper next to him was stunned as he watched his friend die slowly. He aimed his gun at Emerald and fired, only to become stunned further as the girl dashed backwards into cover.

"Agh screw it..." He grinned, "Have this!" He chucked a grenade into the exact spot Emerald had hid behind. The small device flew across the gap between them and exploded as soon as it made contact with the dirt. Successfully shattering the dusty rock Emerald had used for cover. "Haha! Take that!"

_**'BANG!'**_

Another shot rung out. The trooper followed it to the source to see Emerald charging towards him. She sprinted at the duo, leapt up onto a nearby rock and drew only one pistol this time. She held the same grin as before when she pulled the trigger and landed a round in each one of their heads.

There wasn't time to celebrate as more soldiers filled in the gaps the dead ones had left behind. Mercury stood further back with a group of bandits covering his flanks. The stood as a coherent unit shooting anyone who tried to pass. However even with such efforts the crew was slowly faltering under the overwhelming majority of troops coming in.

"Dammit." Back on the roof Cinder picked off as many troops as fast as she could pull the trigger. Her rifle was a three-round-burst to reduce recoil and provide increased precision. In turn it allowed her to make much longer ranged shots.

Ruby on the other-hand was trying her very hardest to hold off any approaching soldiers. She'd taken it upon herself to target them as they left their vehicles; hoping to stem the tide. The slow fire rate of her sniper proved less effective in tense situations such as these.

"Agh, get down!" Cinder squawked. She stepped back from the edge of the roof to avoid turret fire from one of the vehicles.

"They've spotted us!" Ruby shouted. The girl ducked down, "What do we do?"

"Calm down." Cinder looked back to the top of the staircase, then back at Ruby. "Can you hold them off for two minutes?"

"I..."

"Good."

Ruby went wide-eyed at Cinder's sudden retreat down the stairs, grimacing at doing this solo.

_'She said two minutes. That means she's coming back right?'_

Ruby shrugged that thought off and resumed her 'job'. She was eternally grateful at the perfect conditions the day had offered. Hot, dry, and barely any wind. Making sniping that much less of a burden.

The crimsonette placed her eye back into the digital rangefinder and took aim at the troop in the turret. With a quick trigger pull, a clean and clear shot rung from Morningstar and embedded in the gunners head -smooth.

The second target Ruby took aim at was one of much more difficulty. Another technical sped up to the scene at a decent pace. The girl centered the cross-hairs roughly a few feet off target and made sure to compensate for speed and drop rate.

With the telemetry giving her good numbers, the girl squeezed the trigger. Praying the windshield wasn't bulletproof.

The high-caliber round penetrated the glass like nothing. Ruby winced as the majority of the window spattered with blood and the drivers face slammed the steering wheel. The vehicle still lurched aimlessly forward, eventually it came to a crashing halt by one of the gate posts.

One of the nearby troops took the opportunity and climbed into the vehicles mounted gun. The action gave the Atlesians much more leverage in pushing the bandits back. The fear in Ruby had risen tenfold. The bandit group surrounding Mercury was falling quickly, and him and Emerald began to fallback towards the main building.

The crimsonette was getting ready to take another shot when the heavy footfalls of boots sounded behind her. She turned her head just enough to see who it was. Lo and behold it was the _very _intimidating Cinder rushing back. The girl simply looked away and focused back on shooting, but as she did, something else caught her eye;

_'What is she holding?'_

Ruby glanced over again, and there was Cinder; rifle slung on her back and a different weapon in hand. Or rather hands.

An Atlas Rocket Launcher.

A tri-muzzled-cannon-barrel monster of pure destruction. The weapon was sizable, comprised mostly of composite materials, and finished off with a orange and black paint scheme. On the exhaust of the launcher Ruby saw the words "Multi-kill" hatched into the metal.

"Okay..." Cinder whispered. "I have no clue how to use this thing -but it's worth a shot." She made sure her tone was low enough for Ruby _not _to hear. Once more she knelt down and primed the weapon. The launcher's sight had been replaced with a thin display showing a fuzzy feed of what was ahead.

Cinder's saffron eyes darted around the screen. She aimed the weapon at the vehicle stuck at the gate and made it a priority target. The display showing showed how far away it was: a mere 107 feet. Once the reticle painted the target, Cinder squeezed the large trigger in her grasp and-

Nothing.

The display flashed: 'Thank you for purchasing our RL-95 series of Launchers. Would you like to watch a tutorial video, or skip this process?'

"Urgh! No! Skip, skip!" Cinder shouted.

Ruby was puzzled at the words Cinder had just shouted. Was she talking to the thing?

Cinder then smiled and refocused on the Atlesian vehicle.

"Up there!" A soldier called out. The voice caught Ruby's attention but not Cinder's. The scarlet girl aimed over the edge and tried to drop the trooper quickly. Scolding herself for losing focus. Her efforts were useless as he made his shot.

His rifle made a metallic clash and a bullet was sent their way. "Cinder!" Ruby cried. Her plea fell on deaf ears. Cinder didn't move, still laser-focused on her target.

"Almos- ERGH!"

_**'BOOSH!'**_

A small exhaust flare left the launcher. But Cinder reeled back at the hot lead slicing into her knee. As she clashed back onto the roof the launcher still shot off -only for the projectile fly straight off into the sky.

"Aghh!" Cinder seethed in pain. Ruby quickly dropped the two soldiers who spotted them and looked back. Immediately the girl was faced with two options: with Cinder down she had the perfect chance to run and escape this mess, she could get the jump on that Roman guy, and leave with Yang. Cinder's place would get overrun, Atlas would kill her.

Cinder would get what she deserved.

But it had never been in Ruby's nature to leave someone for dead. Ever since the day Qrow and Raven were taken, she resented herself for sitting there completely helpless while others were killed or worse; kidnapped. Did Cinder deserve to die?

Questionable.

Did Cinder deserve to die like this?

No.

Mind hastily made up, Ruby deposited her rifle onto her back and went to Cinder's aid. The ebony-haired woman was splayed on the ground, clutching her right knee.

"What're you doing?" Cinder said through the grit of her teeth.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Now let me have a look at it." Ruby ordered.

"Who do you think... agh, you are?"

Deciding actions spoke louder than words; Ruby forcibly removed Cinder's blood-soaked glove from the wound to get a look at it. The hole wasn't bleeding profusely, but enough to be cautious about. Drawing from some of the medical knowledge Raven had taught her, Ruby gripped her left pant-leg and ripped a small strip of the fabric off.

"Hold still." The crimsonette's voice was stoic. Reluctantly Cinder obeyed. Ruby tied the strip of fabric around Cinder's knee creating a makeshift tourniquet.

"Ergh! Easy." Cinder gasped.

Ruby finished her work and stood up, "There, that should slow the bleeding, but you're uh... leg might get a little numb."

Cinder ignored the girls comment and tried to stand up, she winced and fell back on her butt at the sharp pain shooting up her leg. "I really hate this day..." she groaned.

Ruby came to her side and offered the stubborn woman a hand. "C'mon, unless you want to limp out of here."

"Shut-up."

The ebony-haired woman took Ruby's smaller hand, smiling a little at the disgusted look the girl wore when the blood on her glove smeared Ruby's arm.

Just as they were about to flee, Cinder reached out for her launcher that rested by the staircase. She quickly slung the large object onto her back and allowed Ruby to act as her personal crutch.

They went as fast as they could down the staircase and towards the garage at the back of the building. Once they reached the bottom, bandits started to sprint by -fleeing form their inevitable deaths. Emerald and Mercury were among them, however they stopped at the odd sight of Cinder limping alongside the girl who was practically the enemy in this situation.

"What happened?" Mercury questioned.

"Never-mind, just get to Roman and that blonde girl. We need to leave." Cinder commanded. Emerald and Mercury took the notion and defended the slower pair as they retreated to the garage. Within a moments time they reached it. Inside: Yang and Roman had prepared two vehicles. They looked much different than the average technical, and more like heavily modified rally cars. One painted a tan color and the other a matte black. Smaller, unarmed coupés with much more speed and agility, but could still brave rough terrain.

"Ruby!" Yang cheered, glad to see her sister was okay.

"What the hell happened? " Roman wondered out loud.

"Nothing. Agh... we need to go. Now Roman." Cinder's tone this time was much less demanding. Instead it was weaker and faltering. Her breaths were ragged and skin a tone paler.

"They're both fueled up and ready to go." Yang stated.

Ruby aided Cinder into one side of the matte-black rally vehicle and climbed into the drivers side. The vehicle had no doors, but rather an exposed roll-cage instead. Yang joined Ruby and scrunched in behind the drivers seat, whilst Roman, Emerald, and Mercury took to the other.

Both cars started in synchronization. This wasn't Ruby's first time driving, but it was in a vehicle such as this. A nice change from those 'boats' she normally drove.

She gave the pedal a good kick and revved the engine. The girl slotted the gearbox into first and peeled out of the open-side of the garage. Mercury, who was driving the other car, did much of the same and tailed Ruby out onto the sand and off to God knows where.

"Where are we going?!" Yang shouted, her voice drowned out over the engine.

"Put as much dirt between us and them as... possible." Cinder's resolve had finally broke. She looked in the cracked side-mirror of the car, seeing the Atlesians torch the place she once called her own.

Seeing the smoke rise in the distance made her feel only one thing;

Nostalgia.

_**A/N **_**Song: 'Doomsday'. By: 'Nero' from their album 'Reality+'**

**Well that was long. I was kind of iffy with a few parts of this chapter but I'm satisfied with how it turned out. A few things for clarification:**

**I didn't talk about Roman's revolver much because he'll be getting a better gun later on.**

**Backgrounds for Merc and Em will be in the next chapter. **

**I know Cinder was kinda OP in this but she'll have her faults/moments. Don't worry I have... plans for her. **

**As for those cars near the end there? Just imagine Mad Max meets Subaru Impreza lol.**

**Thanks for reading! You're all amazing. **


	3. Interlude

_**A**__**/N **_**So I'm finally back with this! Sorry for being late on top of being late, but it's here. This chapter is probably the most mundane you'll get out if this story. It's a pretty sedated bridge to the actual point to where the plot kicks off. **

**Sorry if it's not what you were waiting for, but after this we'll get to the juicy parts of the fic, as well as more on character backgrounds. I don't want to tell everything right away, as this will be a pretty long fic. **

**But here it is! Thanks for sticking around ladies and gents. It's good to be back again lol.**

Chapter 3. Interlude

_"I fought the war, but the war won't stop for the love of God."_

"So uh, where exactly are we going?!" Ruby's voice called out over the blaring engine of the modified vehicle. The crimsonette had been leading the other car along for what she guessed was easily fifty kilometers now. By the looks of the terrain, they neared the north-westernmost part of the land. The northwest was home to the more rugged and mountainous landscape of the area, but where Ruby was currently driving; bordered on dessert and less foreseeable terrain.

From the opposite side of the vehicle, Cinder didn't even give her a glance. Her right hand was still covering her wounded knee and the other was using the car's roll cage as something to hang on to.

"We will go where I say we will go," Cinder spat, "Is that a problem? Last time I checked, you and your blonde friend weren't the individuals in charge."

"We're not friends." Yang cut in from the behind Ruby's seat, eyes facing forward.

"..."

"Yang, she's not my friend. She's my sister, which is kinda like a friend, but closer…?" The redhead explained, not entirely sure why Yang had brought that up.

_'They don't even look alike.' _Cinder thought. Externally her expression retained its flatness, "2 sisters... your mother must be so proud…"

Ruby was taken back by Cinder's unnecessarily snide comment. But she felt her hands tighten their grip on the steering wheel upon seeing that disgusting smirk on the woman's face. That sadistic smirk practically everyone in the wasteland wore. A symbol of hated, of bloodlust.

"What's with you? Can't you be happy at the fact that you're -I don't know- alive?" Yang conceited.

"What, you really assume that was my first run-in with Atlas?" Cinder shook her head, "And why would I give _you _an answer?"

"Because." Ruby stated flatly.

Cinder chuckled, "That isn't a proper-." Cinder trailed off, wincing in pain at a sudden stinging sensation in her knee. The woman lurched forward and placed her gloved hand over the tourniquet Ruby had made.

From the corner of her eye, Ruby watched as Cinder brought her hand back up, "Mmh, lovely." Cinder muttered. The crimsonette turned her focus to Cinder and was washed over with worry at seeing the blood soaked fabric of Cinder's glove.

"We need to stop."

Yang cut in again, "Sis that's not really a good-"

"We're not stopping." Cinder groaned.

"No you're not. Your injury might be infected."

"How?" Yang asked, perking forward again.

"I'm stopping so I can show you." Without confirmation from Cinder, the crimsonette yanked the wheel to the side, and pulled the car onto a sand-laden outcropping to the side of the dusty path. In her mirror, she could see the accompanying car do much of the same.

"Are you out of your mind? Atlas is on our heels." Cinder seethed.

"Lemme see it." Ruby practically demanded.

"Get. Driving."

"Ugh, why're you so difficult? Your gloves."

"What about them?"

Ruby reached out for Cinder's knee, "You touched your wound with them."

That was all Ruby needed to say before Cinder allowed the girl to take another look at it. The younger girl unzipped Cinder's boot and rolled up her pant leg to get a better look at it.

A sudden knock on the hood of the car tore hers, as well as Yang and Cinder's, attention away from the shot wound. It was Mercury, with Emerald standing next to him.

"What's the hold up?" He called out. "Thought she was fine?"

"See, I told you guys it wasn't the best of ideas to snatch them." Roman cut in from behind.

Emerald shot her body around and stared the man down, "It was your idea you lying sack of shit!" It was clear Emerald had enough of both Mercury and Roman for one day.

"You guys aren't really fitting the bill of organized crime." A certain blonde cut in. Yang had squeezed out of the rear of the rally car, and walked up to the bickering trio. Leaving Ruby to tend to Cinder's injury.

"Ah, what's it to you? You'll probably be dead before sunrise," Roman cackled. "When Cinder's all good, she'll put you and your little friend in a nice shallow grave," The man made a wide gesture to the area around them, "There's plenty of dirt to do it with."

"And then us..." Emerald muttered.

"So why haven't you, shot me yet? Thought you're in charge." Yang smirked.

"I'm not an idiot, blondie. You and little red have made yourselves useful, and considering we're down an entire bandit crew; your help is delaying your deaths just a tiny bit longer." The orange-haired man explained.

"You're with us... for now. Should've ran when you had the chance." Emerald added.

Yang turned her gaze back to the matte-black car Ruby and Cinder were in, the stark realization slowly sank in. Roman was right, Cinder would simply use Ruby and herself as expenditures until no longer needed. Then she'd toss them in the nearest ditch and go on with her life. Moreover, it angered Yang to no end how helpless the situation was. If she tried to run -they'd kill her. She was forced to accept her likely demise. Not to mention Ruby's.

The second thing Yang couldn't believe was the fact that Ruby was aiding the ruthless person that they should be running from. But deep down, Yang knew the answer as to why. Her sister was tough to a degree, independent, with an angelic motive hardwired into her soul. Ruby was always helping when she could. Most times it was just her second nature, but other times it was the basic fact that she wanted to prove to those around her that she's a capable young woman -not some puny girl

_'Is that why she's helping Cinder?'_

Yang scanned that thought over twice, quickly making another realization. Either Ruby was just being nice, or her help was an attempt to prove Cinder wrong -that she's more than capable. And in the long-run; prevent hers and Yang's deaths.

"Ah! Sorry sorry sorry sorry..." Ruby's pitched voice cried out from behind. Yang, as well as Roman, Mercury, and Emerald, all focused on the car. There, it looked as though Ruby was acting as Cinder's crutch again, but upon helping her out of the car, Cinder bumped her head on the door frame.

Cinder simply huffed as Ruby helped her limp over to the rest of the group.

"We getting rid of these two yet?" Mercury directed his question to Cinder. The ex bandit leader nodded to Ruby, and the crimsonette began, "We've got a problem."

"What is it? Is she alright?" Emerald said, genuinely concerned.

"Not really no. Her wound got some… stuff in it, and, long story short; it's infected."

"And...?" Roman's tone portrayed he was more annoyed than concerned.

"If it's left to long, she'll get gangrene. We need to get some proper medical attention to it." Ruby announced. She received a variation of responses. A frown from Mercury, a fretful gaze from Emerald, and an eye-roll from Roman.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Mercury questioned.

"There's a settlement, uh, not to far from here. I can get the supplies-"

"No, no. There's somewhere better." Cinder said, completely ignoring Ruby. Her gaze shifted to Roman, "The safehouse. You didn't lose track of that, did you?"

Roman gave an affirmative nod, "Should be secure. I had Perry and a few others keep an eye on it."

The ebony-haired woman sighed in relief. "The only thing you didn't screw up today..."

"Sorry, Safehouse?" Yang cut in, feeling left out.

Mercury gave the blonde an undermining look, "It's an old run-down radio tower, about a hundred clicks from here. There's a small building there, with a cache of supplies in it."

Yang ignored Mercury's snarky attitude. She crossed her arms above her chest and looked quizzically at Cinder, the remainder of the group doing much the same.

"We'll go." Cinder answered to their stares. For a moment she felt a sliver of empowerment, all to be taken away by the pain in her leg. Ruby rushed up to be her human crutch again, but the woman shoved her off and limped to the passenger side of the desert vehicle.

The crimsonette was quickly becoming fed-up with Cinder's inhospitable personality. She adjusted the goggles on her head, and resumed her spot in the drivers seat. Yang climbed in not soon after.

She kicked the vehicle to life. Waiting for Mercury's 'go ahead' signal in her cracked mirror. One she saw the okay; she led them out of the outcropping, and off the sand dusted road. Trailblazing towards their new target.

As the redhead drove, Cinder eyed her intently. Every so often she could see Ruby's eyes glance over before snapping back to the road ahead. Cinder smiled, clearly she was making the girl uncomfortable.

Her nature didn't allow her to pull any form of fun from it however. As they headed to the safehouse; the loss she just faced slowly started to sink in. Everything that transpired today... was dizzying. Of all times for Mercury, Emerald, and Roman to mess up, it just had to be today. The woman glanced down at herself: covered in dirt. Her shoulder plate; a relic from the past she'd rather not dwell on, completely scratched and scuffed, making her trademark crest unintelligible. Every move she made sent a sharp pain up her right side, accompanied by what felt like extreme exhaustion.

No crew to back her up, no place to lay down roots, and the biggest and baddest group in the wasteland on her ass.

_'What a lovely day.'_

Deep down she felt somewhat happy at still being in one piece. Ruby and Yang certainly know how to handle themselves, almost impressive.

Almost.

Cinder wasn't quite sure what to make of the so-called sisters. Given the situation, she decided to keep them for their expendability.

_'Who knows... Ruby does seem... malleable.'_

Cinder turned her attention away from the girl and focused on the vast expanse out the car's window. All but one thing crossing her mind now;

_'I need a drink.'_

_**######**_

Hours later, the sun settled. Now following Mercury's vehicle, Ruby kept the car's lights off, allowing them to maintain a low profile. It also provided an undisturbed view of the evening sky; deep indigo with various stripes of orange and red. It was one of the few times the crimsonette could call this godforsaken hellhole, pretty.

Well, technically the sky wasn't the land, so the land was still pretty crap.

"Sis, hey sis, look," Yang perked up from behind. Deciding she was going slow enough, Ruby humored her sister and looked over, "What?" She asked.

"Now is the chance to get out of here, she's sleeping." Yang whispered, pointing to Cinder. The woman rested to one side, her head against the vehicles roll frame. Her goggles masking her eyes.

Ruby wasn't quite sure if Yang had been joking. She gave her wild sister a blank stare, knowing what was coming, "Yang, no."

The blonde didn't hear her sister's remark. She dug back in the seat and fished her bowie knife from its sheath, a sadistic smirk on her face.

"Yang!" Ruby whisper-shrieked, grabbing ahold of the blonde's wrist and pushing it back, "What're you doing? We're not gonna kill her."

"What? Why?"

"Because," Ruby paled. She felt herself get a little angry at Yang's behavior. It drew her mind to how they got wrapped up in this mess to begin with, "Really? It never stops with you, does it?"

"Rubes, I was just tryin' to-"

"To what? Dig our graves a little faster? You got us into this mess, and now you wanna make it worse?!" The crimsonette's tone raised. Honestly she didn't care if Cinder woke up from it.

"Okay okay, sis I'll-"

The girl's reply was to grip the wheel tighter, "No, don't 'Okay sis' me. You say that every time we get into these messes, but nothing ever changes Yang. Each time this happens I get... scared..."

Yang's expression sank at Ruby's outburst, "Of?"

"Every job we've done in the past year has gotten more and more dangerous. I'm just afraid of losing you, okay?"

The blonde's expression went even more somber, "Oh... Ruby, I'm sorry... I-"

"You don't have to apologize. Just promise me; no more crazy jobs, please?" Ruby spoke. She was hoping Yang had learned some form of a lesson at this point.

"I promise."

"Pinky promise?" The redhead held out her hand.

Their fingers locked, "Pinky promise." The blonde smiled, 'Typical Ruby.'

The crimson-haired sniper let go of Yang's hand. As her attention focused back to the way ahead; she saw the lead car begin to slow down. With the small amount of light that fluttered over the valley, Ruby could make out the silhouette of a safehouse. Resting atop a small cliff a mere three meters in height was a fenced-in concrete building, next to it, a radio tower half toppled over.

She took the notion to swing the car around the opposite side, next to the fence gates. Her stormy eyes investigated the building further, raising an eyebrow at how abandoned it looked. A decent pile of sand and dust had swept up near the main door, a clear indicator of vacancy.

The car ground to a halt, and she slipped outside. Yang followed suit, but decided to have a little fun with the still slumbering Cinder. She paced over to the passenger side of the car and planted her head right next to the woman's ear. With a wink to Ruby, she woke her up.

"Ah! We're under attack!" She shouted. Cinder's response was immediate.

"Where?!" The woman lurched forward, head and eyes darting around. Once she deemed there was no danger; her piercing amber eyes landed on Yang.

"What is wrong with you?" She spat, making her way out of the vehicle.

The blonde shrugged, "False alarm," she resisted the urge to giggle at Cinder's haphazard attempt to get out of the car with her bad knee.

A few seconds later, the remaining trio of the group joined them. Mercury looked bored, Emerald watched Cinder with worry, and Roman did a trademark eye-roll.

"Is... is she gonna be okay?" Emerald's voice cracked with more worry.

Ruby gave the dual-wielder a comforting look, "She'll be fine as long as I get the stuff I need."

"Right." The viridian-themed girl nodded.

Mercury made a gagging noise, 'Give her your blood, why don't you.' He joked internally. The shotgunner received a death glare from his partner, he shrugged nonchalantly and turned to go open the door to the safehouse -Emerald following along.

The remaining four looked fell silent. Roman, obviously not wanting to be here, pulled out his revolver and began fiddling with the cylinder. It clicked and spun as she whistled tunelessly.

Cinder felt a headache coming on, her tired eyes glared up at her 'prized' lieutenant, "Roman, for the love of Grimm, please be quiet."

The man flicked the cylinder back into place, "Bitch..." He muttered under his breath.

The souring of the woman's expression must've meant she heard his comment, "Excuse me?"

"What? I was just-"

_**"HEY! You guys might wanna see this!"**_

All heads turned to the shout of Mercury's voice. Roman rushed over, followed by Ruby and Yang, then Cinder. The silver-haired boy made a face at Roman, "You're in trou-ble."

"Shut up, punk. What's all the noise about?"

Emerald exited from the building, she switched the flashlights on her pistols off and gave Cinder a sheepish grin, "There's... no one here. Perry and his guys left, uh, months ago..."

Cinder's eyebrow twitched, "Okay, just to make sure I'm not having a stroke, repeat that back to me." She glared daggers at Roman, the man looking like he was ready to run.

"Well... how about you read this instead?" She plaused, handing her beautiful but pissed-off boss a dingy piece of paper. Reluctantly, Cinder unfurled it and began to read;

_Dear Bitch, This place sucks. We may or may not be taking our supply run as an excuse to leave. We're done working for you and that idiot Roman. -Sincerely, Perry and the gang._

_P.S. We took all the safehouse supplies with us. Have fun._

"Dammit!" Cinder cursed, crumpling the note and throwing it at Roman, "Morons..." At this point in the game, she was too tired to lash out at anyone, "There's nothing left?"

"Nothing..." the dark-skinned girl bowed her head, like she was taking the blame.

"Look," Ruby cut in, "It's not the end of the world, I just need to think..."

Roman began fiddling with his revolver again, "Is the condition of Cinder's leg, really that big a deal?"

"Like I said, she'll get gangrene if we don't treat it. Unless you'd like to amputate that is." The crimsonette chided, "Let's just get inside... for now."

It was an idea no one could really argue with. The group of six filed into the building one by one, leaving the door slightly ajar to allow some form of light in. With what the light provided, Ruby made out the contents of the small room. A reloading bench, a set of cots, and a few chairs centred around what looked like an abandoned poker table. Her head perked to the door, watching Mercury step out with Roman for what looked like a smoke. The faint flickering of a lighter confirmed her suspicions.

'_At each other's throats one minute –sharing a smoke the next. Weird.'_

Her attention went back to the room. Cinder had taken a sitting residence on one of the cots –chatting up Emerald. She paid them no mind and glanced at Yang, the blonde was currently doing inventory to scavenge what remained supply wise.

"Blondie," She heard Cinder call, "Get over here."

The blonde turned, "Can you say please?"

"I'd rather not." The woman snarled.

Ruby eyed on as Yang took a few steps over, knowing she only obliged because she had too, "With that attitude, I'm not surprised that Perry guy left."

"Do not push me," Cinder pointed, "Lemme see your shotgun."

"Over my dead body." Yang took a sharp step forward. Eyes boring down on Cinder.

Amber eyes narrowed, "You sure? Why not be a good girl before you do end up dead."

Ruby saw the redlining tension. Arbitrarily, she stepped in. Gently pushing Yang off and looking down at Cinder's less than amused face, "Why do you need the gun?"

"Well because Emerald doesn't have her medical supplies, and nor does this safehouse; I have to make some." The ebony-haired woman explained.

Yang made a funny face, "Come again?"

"Ugh..." Cinder sighed, "The shells in your gun are incendiary, yes?"

"Yes."

"If mixed with rubbing alcohol, the solution is good for cleaning wounds. It also helps speed up the healing process..." The woman droned like it was common knowledge.

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Ruby thought about it for a moment, "That... actually makes sense. In small doses, red dust is used as a disinfectant. But... what's the alcohol for?"

"Because the dust I'm about to use isn't medical-grade. The alcohol will make a barrier from doing any unnecessary damage to my skin."

Realization dawned on Ruby, "Ooh." The girl felt a little crestfallen. She wanted to be the one that could help Cinder's injury, but it looks as of the woman's medical expertise shadowed her own. It made sense though. Cinder scoffed at every attempt Ruby had made to tend to her injury, and she was probably waiting for a moment like this where she could do it herself as another way to shun the crimsonette off.

"Fine," Yang spat. She pulled the release on the top mounted magazine, and eyed Cinder, "How many shells?"

"One." The reply she got from Yang was a shell landing on the floor. Emerald raced to pick it up, already moving to the bench to pull it apart. Ruby was going to ask where she'd get the alcohol, but it seemed like the woman already had a plan, "Roman!" She shouted. Through the door stepped the man in question, along with Mercury. The elder of the duo tossed his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out before addressing Cinder.

"We leaving?"

"No, I need your flask."

Roman looked puzzled, "Huh?"

Cinder's wit was really being pushed now, "Don't play games. I know you carry a flask with you."

"Alright alright... sheesh," The sharpshooter dug inside the right pockets of his trench coat –producing a small bronze-embroidered flask, "What's it for?"

Cinder paid him no mind. She undid the buckles on her boot and kicked it off, followed by sliding her pant-leg up. She then tore off a small bit of her sleeve as something for the alcohol to go into. Just as she was about to get to work, Yang spoke up.

"Isn't that uh, gonna hurt like a bitch?"

"Let's see, shall we?" The woman replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. Cinder tied the small bit of sleeve into a few knots and dabbed it into the flask. Slowly, she began cleaning her wound. Without so much as a flinch, she grabbed the extracted dust from Emerald and rubbed it on as well –she gritted her teeth and inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to cuss.

It honestly hurt quite a bit.

With that done, she didn't want to waste anymore time. Atlas was still on their heels. She tore off another small strip of her sleeve and tied it around the wound. Slipping her boot back on, and readying to leave. Cinder internally cursed herself. Ruby had been right about the wound getting infected, but her own denial to it could've been avoided if she listened to her conscience and tended to it earlier. Denial over losing everything. All to the people she hated most.

"So, where to boss?" Mercury asked. Her stood by the door, arms crossed, looking as impatient as ever.

"There's a town we can lay low in... East of here."

A certain blonde holstered her shotgun, "All that's around here are bandit towns." She spoke sceptically.

"You're from the North, what would you know?" She seethed.

Ruby ushered Yang to follow along. The group of six left the building and returned to the duo of off-road vehicles. This time, Cinder took the helm of the lead car, with Ruby riding shotgun and Yang in the back again. The crimsonette stole a few glances at the ebony-haired woman's face. She looked beat, determined, and pissed off all at the same time. It was admirable... in a weird way. For her endurance to hold up for this long.

She shook that thought off and slumped in her seat, giving a small sigh of relief.

"_You're still alive... nothing to worry about. Everything is fine."_

_**######**_

Ruby wasn't sure what time it was when they got close to this so-called 'town'. Judging by how long the sun has been down for; she assumed it was close, or just after, midnight.

They were back on the salt-flats again, meaning their entire trip today made a large loop around where this fiasco had started. In the distance, her eyes spotted a typical looking bandit shanty town that resembled practically every other settlement she's seen. Including her home town.

Suddenly, the headlights flicked on. Ruby turned her gaze to Cinder, the woman's eyes plastered to the road. Completely focused and unblinking.

The lights caught a reflective outline coming on up their left. Ruby trained her eyes and realized it was a makeshift sign for the town. The rusty, bullet ridden, slate read;

'**The Bakdoor, Populashin: 60-ish'**

The redhead stifled a laugh, _'Definitely a bandit town.'_

Said town came into full view now. Completely dark and devoid of its inhabitants. It was a simple layout. A main dirt road running up the middle with several branches of smaller paths coming from it. The only sign of life was a neon sign down the main stretch –most likely a bar.

"All this place needs is a stereotypical tumbleweed. There's no one here." Yang piped up.

Cinder was about to answer, but from her mirror she saw Mercury pull the second car over. He likely picked up on the town's desolation as well. She did much the same, but pulled over to the opposite side of the street.

In the other car, Emerald was the first to climb out. She's yet to visit this town before. It's silence made her skin crawl. She withdrew Beryl and Basilisk just to be safe. The sound of two guns clicking behind her said her compatriots did the exact same.

Her crimson eyes looked to Roman, the man walked nonchalantly, continuing to fiddle with his revolver.

"This is so fun, isn't it?" He spoke sarcastically.

Mercury paced around the car, gun down, "You got a better plan?"

Roman tutted, "I remember when you would kick and fight every order Cin gave you, now you're just spineless."

"Shut-it, I'm pretty sure whatever plan you have would get us all killed." The silver-haired one shot back.

"So no mutiny then?" Roman joked.

"Not with you." Emerald cut in.

"Psh," Roman chuckled, "You're only staying for the view," He raised his hand and pointed at Cinder.

"W-Whatever." She turned away, hiding a blush.

"Boss!" Mercury called, ignoring both Roman and Emerald. Cinder turned her head, "There's no one here!" He shouted again, slowly walking over to the other three.

"You think they heard about the attack, and just left?"

"No," Cinder said in a near whisper, "Something's not right here." She set herself down on a small crate by the edge of the road, the pain in her knee was still there, but less in intensity.

"No shit..." Yang muttered.

Roman raised his revolver and pointed at the neon sign from earlier. It was bright green, the letters reading 'Drinks' with a half burnt out 'k'.

"I'm down for a drink." Mercury added.

Emerald promptly facepalmed, Yang shrugged, Ruby looked nervous.

"You three," Cinder pointed at Mercury, Emerald and Roman, "Stay out here and watch the doors." She slowly stood up, ushering Ruby and Yang to follow her. Roman and Mercury both groaned, reluctantly following along until they reached the saloon doors to the bar. Cinder gave them a small nod and pushed the weak piece of wood open, Ruby and Yang followed suit. They stepped into the bar, dim lights illuminated a small room. There was an L-shaped bar counter in the far right corner with various flavours on its shelves, centred around that was several stools, and miniature tables littered the room.

Gun at the ready, Ruby felt a little inadequate for the situation. Her sniper, Morningstar, wasn't exactly the weapon of choice for close quarters. Her blade, Crescent Rose, sat snug in its holster. However her skill with that was nowhere near as good as with Morningstar.

The sound of a floorboard creaking got her attention. Odd, as none of them had been moving. Ruby made the mistake of turning her attention to the doors, the cool feel of a barrel being pressed to the back of her neck was a good measure of how bad that mistake was.

"Don't make a move girlie." A foul tone growled.

From her peripheral vision, Ruby could barely make out the assailant. But from the darker rear of the room, as well as from behind booths and tables came several more of them.

Bandits.

"Ruby!" Yang called in fear, only to be put in the same stipulation as her sister.

Two more bandits went for Cinder. The both of them had their Goliath brand LMG's trained on her.

"Guys! We got an issue!" Mercury shouted to his compatriots. Coming from three directions across the streets were groups of bandits. Producing themselves from the darkened buildings and side alleys. Each one of them held their rifles, pistols, and shotguns at the ready. Clad in fear-instilling helmets, goggles, masks, and clothes stained with patches of blood. Mercury's senses were immediately filled with the dingy smell of gunpowder and booze. He crouched down and placed First-Matter on the railing as a stand. Emerald stood fast next to him; both pistols at the ready.

As usual, Roman looked like he could care less.

From the middle of the centre group came a typical looking bandit. The only notable thing about his appearance was a small dumb-looking top-hat on his head. He pushed through and stood a mere five feet from where Mercury and his half of the group were.

"Put'cher guns down!" He shouted, "Ya'll are outnumbered!" His walk took a slight zigzag, almost as if he was inebriated.

"Shit..." Mercury heard his dark-skinned companion mutter. He rolled his eyes, "This day just gets better and better.

"I'm the mayor of this here town! Now... put'cher guns down or I _will_ get my boys to shoot you!"

Reluctant as hell, Mercury, Emerald and Roman complied. As he set his silver-plated gun down; he turned to the inside of the building –only to see several bandits inside as well.

The self-proclaimed 'Mayor' strutted his way past them and pushed into the bar. Trailing him was a group of bandits that took Mercury's groups guns away, and stood by as guards.

Back inside the bar, the Mayor continued his walk. He stopped as soon as he saw Cinder: hands held behind her back by a duo of attackers, "Whoo!" He thundered in humour, "You're gonna make us rich!"

Cinder scrunched her face at the arced stench coming from the man, "Step off you half-wit."

'**SMACK!' **

Cinder reeled back a bit as the Mayor's hand came down on her cheek, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" The Mayor patted his long jacket down. Going through each individual pocket before finding what he was after. Her snapped his fingers and the bandits holding Cinder slammed her down onto the bar counter. The woman groaned loudly, spitting out a bit of blood as she regained her bearings.

"C'mon... I thought we were friends?" She joked. Only to earn her a solid knee to the ribs.

The Mayor unfurled a piece of paper and held it in front of her face. Cinder could barely make out the words in the dim room, but what she did read... was something she refused to believe was real.

Below a picture of her face read:

'**WANTED: CINDER FALL'**

'**Calling all bounty hunters for the capture of bandit leader known as Cinder Fall, under the counts of Theft, Arson, Murder, War Crimes, Profanity, Public Indecency, Cannibalism, &amp; being general pain to Atlas. She must be brought in ALIVE to claim the reward.'**

'**REWARD: 500,000 Lien'**

'_As if this day couldn't get any worse... leave it to Atlas to spread the news this quick... half of those charges are illegitimate anyway!'_

Cinder droned internally. She knew the delay at the safehouse would come back to bite her later on. She just didn't know it could've been this quick.

"Now..." The Mayor cackled, "You're gonna tell me what them words say. Last time one of these paper things came through the town; we killed the guy and got paid for it. We're lookin' to do the same this time. We ain't dumb. Saw ya'll coming in those cars from miles away. You looked like the lady in the picture so we made a trap ya'll fell right into, haha!"

Cinder laughed, but immediately regretted it as she felt herself get pushed down harder.

"Don't play games, we don't like games," The bandit Mayor raised his Goliath pistol, "Read it to me, and don't go lyin' or taking advantage because we ain't the strongest of readers!"

If she was going to die today, she at least wanted to get some fun out of it. Cinder raised an eyebrow and began to 'read'.

"Well looks like you have a mix-up here gentlemen. The words say that this is obviously a missing persons poster."

"Liar! If I know one word it's Lien, and I see it right there."

"Oh that? It's just...

"It's a fine if any harm comes to her." Ruby piped up from the left side of the room.

"Yeah, that's true." Yang added in.

Cinder smiled at the help of the two sisters. Maybe they could be of use...

"Huh? Ya'll are liars." The Mayor's voice slipped, sounding a little less intimidating.

"_Time to put on a show, Fall." _Cinder breathed a quiet sigh, "No..." Her voice sounded low and sad, "It's just... my parents have been looking for me for the longest time... and I-" Her voice cracked, "I just want to go home..." The ebony-haired woman sniffed like she was crying.

"Who're these other guys then?"

"Bodyguards I... hired to help me..."

Yang smirked at Cinder's little show, "How sly..."

The bandit backed off, not wanting to 'infringe' on what was in front of him, "Oh... oh I'm sorry there ma'am, your family must really miss you, huh?" the Mayor backed off. Her held his arms out and gestured for his fellow bandits to lower their guns.

"Yeah, they do..."

"Men, let em' go. They're just trying to get home."

Ruby sighed in relief as she was let from her vice-grip. The bandit gave her a gate but handed Morningstar back.

"Look, is there anything we can do to help? We're really sorry about that exchange there."

"Yes, you can," Cinder stood straight and talked at the Mayor. She couldn't see his eyes beyond his goggles, but his body language radiated trepidation, "We need a place to stay and some medical supplies."

"Sure, sure. Roger!" He yelled to a tall bandit outside, "Show our guests to the motel!"

Cinder made a sly grin when the Mayor turned away. _'Bandit stupidity us the best thing to mess with.'_

_**######**_

"I still can't believe that actually worked." Emerald said to Cinder. A mere twenty minutes later, they had been given two small rooms in the towns motel. It was shady living, but at least it was shelter. It still made Cinder unsure whether the floor was safer to sleep on then the bed.

"Have a little faith Emerald." The woman replied. She watched Emerald work her magic on tending to her knee. The bandits actually had the medical supplies necessary to properly patch things up. For real this time. Emerald's medical expertise was one of the best in the group, but when it came to tense situations like back at the safehouse; her mind goes blank with worry.

"And done, it should be better by morning." The dark-skinned girl pulled back, proud of her work on Cinder's knee.

Ruby had been chatting up Yang on the other side of the room, just by the small door frame. Cinder eyed both girls intently. Still surprised at how they both backed her up with the silly lie from earlier. On top of that, they both proved themselves as formidable combatants, better than most she's seen in her twenty-six years on this hellhole of a planet. Still, she wasn't sure where their intentions lie, so she'd be keeping them around by methods of fear for now.

Plus she wasn't going to lie to herself, Ruby was quite the looker too. Maybe it was her desensitized outlook when it came to women, considering the fact that she hardly ever saw any. Regardless, Ruby was pretty.

But there was more pressing matters to attend to. Atlas has got a bounty out on her already. Leaving the 'lay-low' option out of the equation.

"Hey, uh, Cinder?" Yang approached the woman. A weary look on her face.

"What is it?"

The blonde had a copy of the bounty in her hand, "Just to be safe, this Cannibalism charge is a discrepancy, right?"

The woman sighed. On a good day she probably would've played along and said it was true. But she was too tired for games. "No. It's a lie. I mean, look at the last one: 'Being general pain to Atlas'. It's standard for Atlas to put those charges in high ranking bounties."

"That's a relief." The blonde sighed.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, "Did you really think that I chow down on humans for fun?"

"Kinda, you're not exactly the most predictable person."

"Whatever, just go." Cinder shushed the blonde off. She was even too tired to put Yang in her place.

Slowly getting overcome by exhaustion; Cinder leaned back on the bed. Though she was tired, she doubted she'd get any sleep tonight. And probably for many nights to come.

She didn't want to live like this. In constant fear.

She didn't need equations or questions.

She _wants _a solution.

And she wants it now.

_**A/N **_**There it is. Sorry of it was clunky at times, but I really wanted it out of the way so I can get my hands on the good parts of the story where we'll finally get to see some shipping action start lol. **

**REMEMBER that this is going to be a long fic, so things will be slower than normal.**

**I'm slowly getting back into the swing of rwby, so I apologize if there's discrepancies compared to what you're used to from me. I'm trying hard to get back to how things were. **

**I'll see you all soon I hope! Mega thanks and brownie-points for reading, following, fav'ing, and reviewing!**


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